


I Want to See You {NozoEli}

by celestialtaehyung



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Angst, F/F, Falling In Love, Female Friendship, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Games, Gaming, Happy, Love, Love Confessions, Problems, Romance, Sad, Unrequited Love, Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-10-22 08:03:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 31,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10692960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialtaehyung/pseuds/celestialtaehyung
Summary: When Eli Ayase accidentally joins the wrong server on a game that she had no interest in playing, she doesn't expect to actually find friends within said server. She also doesn't expect to fall in love with a complete stranger, who may just end up being the most important person in her life.





	1. 01

**Author's Note:**

> i'm not too sure about this whole 'messaging style' fan fic??? ofc it won't all be messages, but i'd really appreciate it if y'all left some feedback telling me what you think about the style?

**_harashno has joined the server._ **

**_hoshizoranya:_** intruder alert! intruder alert!

 ** _givemerice:_** rin, stop

 ** _givemerice:_** what if you scare them?

 ** _ALPACAS:_** intruder alert~! intruder alert~!

 ** _sonononoda:_** kotori don’t join in

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** who are you?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** how did you get into this server? it’s private

 ** _harashno:_** i must have typed the wrong numbers, i’m sorry

Eli had been forced to play an online game with her younger sister, though the instructions she’d been given hadn’t been clear at all. She stared at the screen with wide, blue eyes, examining her character’s surroundings. A chat log continued to pop up in the corner of her screen, her eyes examining the strange names.

A swarm of messages took up her entire chat log, most of which were question marks and exclamation marks, reflecting the confusion that the strangers felt. Eli fought to read them all, her eyes dancing over the words.

 ** _ALPACAS:_** it’s nice to meet you!

 ** _sonononoda:_** this is the third time someone else has joined

 ** _sonononoda:_** you’d think people would know how to type

 ** _hoshizoranya:_** do you know how to play?

 ** _givemerice:_** maybe we should start a new server

 ** _sonononoda:_** sounds like an idea

**_sonononoda has left the server._ **

**_ALPACAS:_** aw, umi left D:

 ** _ALPACAS:_** i’m going too, then!

**_ALPACAS has left the server._ **

**_niconiconii:_** looks like that’s decided

 ** _tomato:_** can i finally change my username if i change servers with you?

 ** _niconiconii:_** no

**_niconiconii has left the server._ **

**_hoshizoranya:_** lol you’re stuck with that username

 ** _givemerice:_** i think it’s nice

 ** _tomato:_** fuck off

**_tomato has left the server._ **

**_hoshizoranya:_** nozomi we’ll send you the new server

**_givemerice has left the server._ **

**_hoshizoranya has left the server._ **

**_harashno:_** what’s going on?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** where are you? i’ll help you for a bit

With furrowed brows, Eli stared at her bright screen, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. After joining a server, that she thought belonged to her younger sister, she had been dropped in the middle of an arctic wasteland. Her character stood with little more than rags for clothes and a gun in one hand.

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** are you going to answer me?

 ** _harashno:_** idk where i am

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** give me the coordinates, idiot

 ** _harashno:_** i’ve never played this game before

 ** _harashno:_** where do i find the coordinates?

 ** _HONK:_** i’m back !!

 ** _HONK:_** where is everyone?

 ** _HONK:_** who is that?

 ** _HONK:_**???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** the others are making a new server

 ** _HONK:_** goddamn i leave for five minutes

 ** _HONK:_** at least i got my sweets

**_HONK has left the server._ **

**_harashno:_** shouldn’t you be leaving, too?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** what kind of a name is harashno?

 ** _harashno:_** excuse me?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** your username sounds really dumb

 ** _harashno:_** i could say the same for you

If Eli wasn’t beyond tired, she would have just left the game there and then. But there was something intriguing about the other person, so she decided to stay in the game. A small sigh passed her lips as she pushed the buttons on her keyboard, moving her character around the game. Her character, with their lack of armour and weapons, was very susceptible to damage.

She examined the small map in the upper, right corner of her screen with narrowed eyes. There were several marks on the map, though she didn’t really understand what they meant. A shaded area to the left of her character was quite clearly a long, long drop. Eli immediately knew that her character would meet immediate death if she were to fall down said hole.

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** hey

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** don’t ignore me

 ** _harashno:_** what

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i said i’ll help you

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** if you can’t find the coordinates, just right click on the map

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** you should see the red spot where your character is

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** right click it, and i can find you

Eli did as the stranger instructed, moving her mouse towards the map. She right clicked upon the red spot, watching as a blue spot suddenly appeared. It came with a short sound, the spot flickering a few times, before eventually disappearing.

 ** _harashno:_** did you see that?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** you’re pretty close

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** stay there, i’m coming

Within moments, another character appeared upon Eli’s computer screen. The other character was clearly stronger than her own, with deep, purple armour. They also wielded a heavy sword, whose colour was the same as their armour. It also seemed as if they moved faster than Eli’s weaker character.

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** lol your character looks like shit

 ** _harashno:_** i haven’t played this game before

 ** _harashno:_** forgive me for having better things to do than playing computer games all day

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** you shouldn’t be insulting me

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i could kill you with a single hit

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** call me master, and i won’t do it

 ** _harashno:_** ew, is that some weird kink of yours?

 ** _harashno:_** how about no

 ** _harashno:_** i’m not into that

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** but you will be ;)

 ** _harashno:_** i hate you

 ** _harashno:_** just help me, or i’m leaving

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** join my party

As soon as the message appeared in the chat log, Eli was greeted by the sight of a small, grey pop-up in the middle of her screen. It read: **_spiritualpowa has invited you to their party_. ** Beneath said message, there were two options; yes or no.

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i’ll kill some mobs for you

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** it should help you level quickly

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** shared exp and all that

Eli hesitantly agreed to join the stranger’s party. When she did so, a second health bar appeared beneath her own. The blonde-haired female stared in awe at the second health bar. Where her character had a measly 650hp, the other character had 20,000hp. At first, Eli was somewhat impressed.

And then she noticed the huge level difference between the two.

 ** _harashno:_** level 75? really?

 ** _harashno:_** how much free time do you have?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i’m not on this game as much as you think

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** my friends and i are part of a guild

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** when they do raids and shit, i also get shared exp

 ** _harashno:_** so you gain levels without even being on the game?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** yeah

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** it would really suck if our levels disappeared when we changed servers

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** maybe if i help you enough, you can join the other server we made

 ** _harashno:_** you talk as if i’m actually willing to play with you guys

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** well, why not?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** the others might have left, but they’re not mean or anything

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** it’s only because it _was_ supposed to be a private server for our group

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i’m sure they’d like you

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i like you

 ** _harashno:_** we don’t even know each other

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** we could do

 ** _harashno:_** i guess…

 ** _harashno:_** but if you think i’m going to be on this game all the time, you’re insane

 ** _harashno:_** if you really want to talk, add me on something else

 ** _harashno:_** like skype or discord

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i have both

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i’ll add you on both

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** maybe you can join our discord server

 ** _harashno:_** maybe

 ** _harashno:_** my skype name is the same as this username

 ** _harashno:_** my discord is harashno#5455

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** i’ve sent both requests

Eli opened both Skype and Discord to see the requests that the stranger had been talking about. Both of their usernames were the same, but their Skype profile gave away their real name: Nozomi Tojo. Eli could see from the profile picture that the stranger was a female with purple hair, who looked to be around her age.

 ** _harashno:_** so your name is nozomi?

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** nice to meet you, elicchi

 ** _harashno:_** don’t call me that

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** okay, elicchi

 ** _harashno:_** i hate you

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** omg is that you in your profile picture?

Eli furrowed her brows, switching immediately over to her Skype profile. She knew that Nozomi couldn’t be talking about her Discord profile; her picture had been changed to a picture of her friend. It was a mugshot that she had taken during their lunch break at school.

When she looked at her Skype profile, she realised that she did, in fact, have a picture of herself as her profile picture. It had been taken a short while ago, at a party that she had attended. She hadn’t minded it that much, at the time. She looked nice, after all. But, knowing that Nozomi was also seeing the picture, she felt somewhat shy.

Though she knew that removing it wouldn’t do much; Nozomi had already seen it, after all. Eli sighed and turned her attention back to the game, shocked to find another message from Nozomi. She was taken aback by what she saw.

 ** _spiritualpowa:_** you’re cute


	2. 02

**_You have 7 unread message(s)._ **

Eli sighed and rolled over in her bed, trying to push her phone away. Around fifteen minutes ago, her phone had started being swarmed with notifications. It was a Saturday morning, and Eli didn’t want to be awake before at least 11am.

**_You have 10 unread message(s)._ **

Furrowing her brows, Eli gave into her curiosity and grasped her phone with one hand. She unlocked her screen to find that she was being spammed with Skype messages. There were a few messages on her Discord, too, but she decided to check them afterwards.

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** good morning elicchi!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i still can’t get over how cute you look in your profile picture

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i bet you sound cute, too

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** we should call at some point

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** maybe we should video call~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** wake up!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** get out of bed, sleepyhead!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** maybe i should wake you with a kiss?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** haha, i’m joking

**_Eli Ayase:_** i hate you

Eli half expected to be waiting a long while for Nozomi’s reply, but was rather shocked to find her phone notifying her again within seconds of her sending the message. She wanted to roll her eyes, but was surprisingly happy to find that Nozomi was eager to talk with her.

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you want me to kiss you, then?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m not complaining~

**_Eli Ayase:_** i meant i hate you for waking me up

**_Eli Ayase:_** i don’t want you to kiss me, tyvm

**_Eli Ayase:_** and stop calling me cute

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** why?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i don’t like it

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** hm, i’ll find other words, then

**_Eli Ayase:_** or don’t?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** well, you’re awake now

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** we should do something

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** do you want to play again?

**_Eli Ayase:_** not right now

**_Eli Ayase:_** i have homework to do

**_Eli Ayase:_** maybe when i’m done

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi, it’s saturday morning!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** who actually does homework before sunday night?

**_Eli Ayase:_** school council president does

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re school council president?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i used to want to be part of the school council

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and then it seemed boring

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i bet it’s boring

**_Eli Ayase:_** it comes with its privileges

**_Eli Ayase:_** like having a whole room to yourself

**_Eli Ayase:_** being able to make big decisions concerning the school

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** still sounds boring  

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** if you’re going to do homework

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** maybe we should call, instead

**_Eli Ayase:_** why?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i want to talk to you, that’s why

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t you have anything better to do?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** nope~

**_Eli Ayase:_** at least let me get changed first

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’ll call you when i’m ready

With that, Eli pushed her phone aside and climbed out of bed with a series of complaints. She wasn’t used to waking so early, though it was true that she always did homework first. Only after she finished homework did she go outside, or do other things.

Eli bustled about her room, changing from her pyjamas into something more comfortable. She slipped into a blue shirt with sleeves that hung off of her shoulders, exposing a white bra strap. Then she pulled her hair into her usual ponytail, fixing her face with some makeup before deciding that she was finished.

She examined herself in the mirror, checking that she looked all right, before sitting at her computer. There was a small part of Eli that hoped she looked pretty, though she didn’t quite understand why she wanted to look good for someone like Nozomi. After loading up her Skype, Eli fitted herself with her headset and called Nozomi.

The purple-haired stranger answered almost immediately, a lopsided image popping up on Eli’s screen. It seemed that Nozomi had dropped her phone, as all Eli could see was a ceiling light and the top of a purple head. She stifled a giggle, instead reaching for her homework from a desk drawer.

“I can’t believe I dropped it!” A feminine voice reached Eli’s ears. She realised that Nozomi sounded pretty cute, for someone with such an annoying attitude in-game. “You just looked so cute, Elicchi!”

“I told you not to call me that.” Eli quipped, sorting her papers upon her desk. She moved her keyboard and mouse aside, grasping a pen from one corner of her desk. Her eyes moved across the paper, wanting nothing more than to glance back at Nozomi. “If you’re going to be annoying, I’m ending the call.”

“You even sound cute! This is perfect!” Nozomi continued, as if completely ignoring Eli’s threats. When Eli lifted her eyes once more, she found that the female had managed to fix her camera. What she saw on screen was a girl with vibrant, green eyes staring back at her. “What homework are you doing, Elicchi? I might be able to help.”

Eli muttered, “I doubt it.” She answered questions without really thinking about them, wanting to hurry so that she could talk with Nozomi properly. Even though she was still a stranger, Eli wanted to talk with the other girl.

“Are you calling me dumb?”

“Yes.”

“You’re so blunt!” Nozomi whined, collapsing back on to her unmade bed. She hung a pale hand over her face, closing her eyes as she pretended to act wounded. Eli giggled slightly at this, causing Nozomi to crack one eye open. “Your laugh is cute, too!”

“Is your vocabulary really that limited?” Eli raised a brow at Nozomi’s repetitive statements, still scribbling answers to questions. While she appreciated the compliments, she didn’t quite feel comfortable with the little flutter that her heart did every time Nozomi said something nice about her. “I have a dictionary, if you want to borrow it.”

“Bring it to me in a maid outfit and I’ll read all of it. Every last word.” Nozomi continued teasing her, completely unaware of the blush that threatened to rise in Eli’s cheeks. At times, Eli couldn’t be sure whether Nozomi was teasing, or being completely genuine with what she said.

“I already _told_ you; I’m not going to fuel your weird kinks.” Eli responded, her eyes dancing over her homework sheet once more. There weren’t many questions to answer and most of them seemed easy to Eli, so it hadn’t taken her long at all. If she hadn’t had other work sheets to answer, she would have stopped there and then. “Don’t you have homework to do?”

“I do,” Nozomi mused, “why do you ask?”

“You should do it.” Eli told her, tapping her pen gently against her desk. Even when she was outside of school, she still felt her school council president instincts kicking in, making sure that people did their best at school. “I can help you, if you want.”

“If you say so.” Nozomi sung, humming to herself as she grasped sheets from beside her. She moved around, awkwardly trying to place the camera so that she wouldn’t have to hold it. Eli watched from the corner of her eye as Nozomi furrowed her brows, staring directly into the camera as she attempted to prop it up against something. “Stop staring at me, Elicchi.”

Eli’s face flushed and she immediately looked away. When she looked back again, she could see Nozomi sitting cross-legged on her bed, still wearing what looked like lilac pyjamas. Nozomi held, in her hands, a thin sheet of paper, with several questions on it.

“You don’t seem to be struggling much, Elicchi.” Nozomi commented, chewing on the end of her pencil as her bright eyes stared down at the paper. She always avoided doing her homework because she didn’t enjoy school; she wasn’t particularly good at her subjects. The only reason she went to school was to see her friends. “Are you good at school?”

“I guess.” Eli didn’t consider herself to be exceptionally good at anything, but she didn’t think she was bad, either. After all, she wouldn’t have made it on to the school council if she wasn’t somewhat capable. “I understand most things, but there are still things I don’t get at times.”

“I see…” Nozomi’s voice trailed off after that, her attention seemingly turning to her homework. Eli didn’t mind, though. The two of them seemed to fall into a comfortable silence, focusing on the work before them.

Eli wasn’t particularly used to that kind of thing, but she didn’t mind it, either. Nozomi seemed like she would be good company, and a part of Eli wanted to get to know Nozomi.


	3. 03

Eli and Nozomi spent most of their morning doing their homework, with few words exchanged between the two females. Occasionally, Nozomi would try to distract Eli, but she would only receive a small sigh in response. They each scribbled upon their sheets of paper, though Eli finished far quicker than the purple-haired female.

She lifted her eyes from her worksheet, finding that Nozomi was staring down at her paper with the most adorable look of concentration upon her feminine features: her dark brows were furrowed together, a pink tongue poking from the corner of her mouth, as she focused purely upon the work in front of her.

Eli would have told Nozomi that she was already finished, had she not adored the look upon the female’s face so much. Instead of saying something, she merely watched on in silence, resting her cheek upon the palm of her hand. She rested her pale elbow upon her desk, readjusting the position of her headset to make it more comfortable.

“I know you’re looking at me.” Nozomi’s voice jolted Eli out of her daze, causing the blonde to immediately turn her head, as if trying to suggest otherwise. Somehow, without even realising, Nozomi was flustering her. “You can take a picture of me, if you’d like.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Eli murmured as she pushed her chair away from her desk. She rose from her seat, turning to glance around her room for something. Fortunately, Eli owned a wireless headset, which made it far easier for her to move around while still conversing with people.

The female made her way over to her bed, stretching out to grab her phone. It still had a few notifications, though none of them were from Nozomi. Of course they wouldn’t be; the pair of them had been talking to each other all morning. Eli remained sprawled out across her bed as she flicked through her different profiles, checking the other notifications absentmindedly.

“You have a nice ass, Elicchi.” Nozomi’s melodic, teasing voice came through Eli’s headset once more and the blonde fought against an instinctive groan. She rolled over so that she was laying on her back, her eyes turning to look at her computer screen. “I was enjoying the view!”

Eli raised her brows at the other female, before standing up again. She sighed softly as she made her way back over to her desk, bringing a knee to her chest as she sat down once more. There was something about Nozomi that was incredibly irritating, and yet Eli also found something appealing about the stranger.

Even though they had only known each other for under a week, Eli already felt as though she would get along fairly well with Nozomi. They hadn’t found out much about each other, besides the basic knowledge: names, ages and their favourite colours. Other than that, it had mostly consisted of Nozomi teasing Eli – it almost seemed like flirting to the blonde-haired girl, but she didn’t want to seem conceited.

“Focus on your homework, or I’m not playing the game with you later.” Eli tried threatening the other girl, watching with pride as a look of shock danced across her face. She watched as the purple head turned down once again, their eyes focused on the worksheet. “I’m surprised you’re not finished yet. You only had a few sheets.”

“They’re difficult, though.” Nozomi pouted gently, her pen moving swiftly across the page as she wrote her answers, some of which were completely random and so were probably incorrect. It was how she usually did her homework. “Most of the time, I just bullshit my way through it and hope for the best. But I’m trying my best to impress you here!”

“Why would you want to impress me?” Eli deadpanned, confused as to what the female could possibly hope to achieve.

“I like you.”

“You’re so irritating.”

“Is your vocabulary really that limited, Elicchi?” Nozomi taunted the other girl, using the same words that had been flung towards her earlier. Eli clicked her tongue against her teeth, before turning away from her screen.

“You can’t use my own words against me.” The blonde-haired girl leaned back in her seat, wondering how else she would be annoyed by the stranger. Their entire conversation had only consisted of Nozomi teasing Eli. “It’s against the rules.”

Nozomi laughed, “What rules?”

“The ones I just came up with.” As Eli shot back with another comment, she heard some sort of crash from Nozomi’s end of the call. She watched with furrowed brows as Nozomi immediately sat up, her eyes suddenly wide. The purple-haired female seemed suddenly frantic, her eyes dancing around her room as she searched for something. “What was that?”

“I have to go.”

With that, Nozomi’s face disappeared from Eli’s computer screen. Nozomi gave no other explanation, didn’t even send another message after ending the school, before she went offline. Eli sat in her chair for a moment longer, waiting for something else.

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi?

**_Eli Ayase:_** what happened?

**_Eli Ayase:_** are you okay?

**_Eli Ayase:_** hey, say something

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m worried now

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi?

**_Eli Ayase:_** fgs message me when you’re back

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** sorry, everything’s fine

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i didn’t mean to worry you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s nice to know that you’re worried about me tho ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you might even say we’re friends next! o:

**_Eli Ayase:_** i hate you


	4. 04

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t ignore me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m bored

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** play with me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i want to talk to you

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s nearly 3am

**_Eli Ayase:_** why aren’t you asleep?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m not tired

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and i wanted to talk to you

**_Eli Ayase:_** you have other friends

**_Eli Ayase:_** message them instead

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but i wanted to talk to you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** not them

**_Eli Ayase:_** what’s wrong with them?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** nothing

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but they’re not as cute as you ;)

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m blocking you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** no

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t do that

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** okay, i’ll stop

**_Eli Ayase:_** good

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** at least talk to me about something, though

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m tired

**_Eli Ayase:_** i always see you online this late

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t you ever sleep?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** not really

**_Eli Ayase:_** why not?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** reasons

**_Eli Ayase:_** that’s not an answer

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** hm~?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** are you interested in me, elicchi?

**_Eli Ayase:_** that depends

**_Eli Ayase:_** what way do you mean?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i meant

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** the interested where you want to know more about me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but i’m not opposed to the other way ;)

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m not interested in you like that

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** aw

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** *deleted message*

**_Eli Ayase:_** i didn’t get to read that

**_Eli Ayase:_** what the hell

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t send something and then delete it before i can read it

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i didn’t mean to send it

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** oops

**_Eli Ayase:_** then what did it say?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it doesn’t matter

**_Eli Ayase:_** whatever

**_Eli Ayase:_** idc anyway

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** are you in bed right now?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i said i was asleep, didn’t i?

**_Eli Ayase:_** of course i am, you moron

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** get out of bed for a second

**_Eli Ayase:_** no

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** come on

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** please

**_Eli Ayase:_** just this once

**_Eli Ayase:_** now what?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** go and look out of your window

**_Eli Ayase:_** what’s wrong with you?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** just do it

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** are you looking out of your window?

**_Eli Ayase:_** yes

**_Eli Ayase:_** is there a point to this?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_ ** _Uploaded image1047.png_

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that’s what i’m looking at right now

**_Eli Ayase:_** why did you tell me to look at the sky?

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’re already looking at the sky

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** show me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** show me the sky you’re looking at

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’re strange

**_Eli Ayase:_ ** _Uploaded image1085.png_

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it looks like the one i’m looking at

**_Eli Ayase:_** we’re on the same planet, you idiot

**_Eli Ayase:_** of course it will

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but it’s comforting

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** to think that you’re underneath the same sky as me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** to think that you’re looking at the same sky as me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** imagine if we lived near each other

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’d move away

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m not that bad

**_Eli Ayase:_** you might show up to my house with another weird fetish thing

**_Eli Ayase:_** i don’t want you showing up with a bear costume

**_Eli Ayase:_** or with an ice cream van

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** um, hello?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m obviously more into whips and chains

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** not bear costumes

**_Eli Ayase:_** that’s even worse

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t show up at my house with whips and chains

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it would be a dream just to show up at your house

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it would be a dream to see you in real life

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’d hang out with you all the time

**_Eli Ayase:_** ha

**_Eli Ayase:_** no, thanks

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you wouldn’t want to?

**_Eli Ayase:_** maybe

**_Eli Ayase:_** maybe not

**_Eli Ayase:_** who knows?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re a tease

**_Eli Ayase:_** and you need sleep

**_Eli Ayase:_** honestly, nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** go to bed

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but i want to talk to you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** *deleted message*

**_Eli Ayase:_**?

**_Eli Ayase:_** actually

**_Eli Ayase:_** i don’t care

**_Eli Ayase:_** we can talk in the morning

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** promise~?

**_Eli Ayase:_** promise

**_Eli Ayase:_** now go to bed

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** okay

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** goodnight elicchi

**_Eli Ayase:_** goodnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry that this chapter is only messaging and you don't really like that but it was only for the purpose of this chapter bc, as i mentioned at the beginning, there will be a few chapters that are just messaging but it's purely for the effect and i promise the narration won't disappear


	5. 05

When Eli awoke once more, the sunlight shining down upon her tired face after she had forgotten to close the curtains, she found her phone nestled beside her. She hadn’t even realised that she’d fallen asleep with it so close to her. She could recall messaging Nozomi, before eventually retiring back to bed.

After that, Eli had been too tired to even move her phone away from her side. So she slept with it beside her, occasionally grasping it as she tossed and turned. She sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes as she tried to push her sleep away, glancing out of the window with furrowed brows.

As Eli looked down at her phone, she saw that Nozomi had stayed up a little longer than they’d agreed, sending messages and pictures. Eli scrolled through the messages, examining the pictures that Nozomi had sent to her. There was a second picture of the sky, followed by a picture of Nozomi’s ceiling.

And then Eli came across a picture that made her heart stop.

Nozomi had sent a picture of herself, in which her eyes glanced beyond the camera, probably staring out of the window at the sky that she seemed so obsessed with. Her hair was pulled into a cute side braid, cascading down her chest in a gentle mess. She wore nothing more than a purple top which had long sleeves, though from the angle of the picture, Eli could quite clearly see that Nozomi was wearing nothing more than panties from the waist down.

The moonlight upon Nozomi’s skin was enough to make her look beyond beautiful. It was as if an angel had landed on earth, just to take a single picture, before taking off again. Seeing the night sky reflected in Nozomi’s emerald eyes completed the entire scene, ensnaring Eli’s attention for several minutes as she properly looked at the picture.

Then she decided to read through the messages properly.

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** are you actually asleep?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it says you’re still online

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** maybe you’re still awake

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** oh, it just changed to idle

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you must be asleep, then

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** *deleted message*

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ll go to sleep in a few minutes, i promise

**_Nozomi Tojo:_ ** _Uploaded image2645.png_

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** the night sky is really beautiful

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** not as beautiful as you, tho ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_ ** _Uploaded image7284.png_

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** shit

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i didn’t mean to send that one

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you can enjoy the view of my ceiling lamp

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** maybe i should sleep now

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but i’ll leave you with this

**_Nozomi Tojo:_ ** _Uploaded image9275.png_

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** goodnight elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** or good morning

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’ll probably read these when you wake up

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so good morning is more appropriate

Eli stifled a laugh as she read through the messages, confused by how someone could be quite so irritating and yet incredibly adorable at the same time. She’d never woken to such cute messages before, and it was a strange feeling, but not one that she hated.

Whenever she usually awoke, she found messages asking about homework, or asking her if she wished to do something. Most of the time, she would send a blunt reply and think nothing more of it. But seeing Nozomi’s spam of messages made Eli want to say something more.

With a small smile on her face, she decided to send a few messages to the purple-haired female, though she knew full well that Nozomi wouldn’t see them for a while; her Skype profile said that she was idle, which probably meant that she was still asleep. It didn’t surprise Eli, considering how late her friend had gone to bed.

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’re strange

**_Eli Ayase:_** but that wasn’t a bad thing to wake to

**_Eli Ayase:_** you look kinda pretty

**_Eli Ayase:_** has anyone ever told you that?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i bet they have

**_Eli Ayase:_** anyway, good morning

**_Eli Ayase:_** we can talk properly when you wake up

Eli turned her attention back to Nozomi’s last picture, wanting nothing more than to screenshot it. No matter how many times she glanced back at it, it never failed to amaze her. Every time her eyes rested upon the serene image, Eli found her breath catching in her throat.

And yet there was something more about the image. Eli didn’t quite know what, but she was sure there was something in it that she was missing.

The more Eli searched the picture, the less she found, though there was a feeling in the back of her mind that suggested there was something incredibly important that she just wasn’t seeing. Her eyes danced over everything, from the darkened bookshelf in the background, to the small pattern upon Nozomi’s hairband.

After a minute or so, Eli shook her head, telling herself that she was just being paranoid. She closed the picture, turning her phone off as she decided to charge it for a while. It had been left on all night, and the charge was running somewhat low. If she was to message Nozomi properly, she had to make sure that her phone wouldn’t die on her.

“Eli, breakfast is ready!” Her younger sister, Alisa’s voice pulled Eli from her intense thoughts, causing her to immediately stand up. She quickly yelled a reply, before beginning to change out of her pyjamas. Within minutes, Eli was bounding down the stairs, wanting to eat before having to leave for school.

She usually attended school with her phone switched off and tucked away safely in her bag, but today a part of her wanted to message Nozomi when she had the time. So, before she dashed out of her house, she grasped her phone from upstairs, tucking it into a pocket of her school blazer. Of course, she wouldn’t check during lessons, but that didn’t stop her from checking at break and lunch, when she would spend her time alone in the school council room.

And so Eli made her way to school, grasping her school bag with a small smile on her face. For once, she wouldn’t feel so alone, knowing that she had someone to talk to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> random side note: i actually hate the word panties : ^)


	6. 06

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really glad so many of you seem to be liking this so far !! it makes me really happy to see so many comments being so happy and engaged in something i'm writing~ <3

Eli’s lessons passed as they always did: with her getting on with her work quickly and quietly, her bright eyes avoiding the other students. She always kept her head down and did her best to avoid drawing attention, though she was aware that the other students knew who she was; she was student council president, after all.

When she was dismissed for lunch, Eli wanted nothing more than to crawl away to the student council room, where she could message Nozomi in peace. But, as she was just about to turn a corner, she found herself face to face with a shorter female, whose black hair was forever pulled up in pigtails. The shorter female looked up at her with wide eyes.

“I was looking for you!” The female addressed Eli with a voice that was somewhat sweet, yet seemed like it was hiding an attitude. Eli furrowed her brows, waiting for the other student to explain what she wanted from Eli. “I wanted to submit an application for a club.”

“Ah, I see.” Eli mumbled, watching as a piece of paper was thrust into her hands. She glanced down at it, her eyes dancing over the words. She would examine it later, when she had more time and was by herself. “I’ll take a look at this.”

“Thanks, President!” The female gave a mock salute to Eli, before stepping around the blonde-haired girl.

“What’s your name?” Eli called out to the girl somewhat instinctively. While she knew the names of a lot of people in the school, there were some people whose names she wasn’t quite aware of. It always made her feel bad when she came across someone whose name she didn’t know. “I need to know in case I do approve of your club.”

“It’s Nico. Yazawa Nico.”

With that, the girl with pigtails disappeared around a corner, her hair streaming out behind her. Eli stared for a moment longer, before turning to make her way towards the student council room. The paper remained between her slender fingers as she walked along, her strides growing in length as she felt herself hurrying.

**_You have 15 unread messages(s)._ **

Eli stared down at her screen with wide eyes; she was surprised that Nozomi had still managed to message her so much, despite also having school. A small smile tugged at her lips as she opened her Skype profile, reading through the unseen messages.

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what cute messages to wake to!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** to answer your question: no, people haven’t called me pretty before

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i wish i could appreciate these messages more

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but i seem to have woken late

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** if i don’t hurry i’ll be late for school

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** not that i care

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but since i’m friends with a student council president now

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i feel like i should put in some more effort

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** plus i won’t be here much longer

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m finally transferring schools

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that doesn’t really matter tho

**_Nozomi Tojo:_ ** _Uploaded image7364.png_

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** the sky looks pretty this morning

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ll bet you look prettier tho ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ll message you between classes if i find the time

Eli settled within her normal seat at the large, oak table, placing the sheet of paper to one side. She dropped her bag on the floor, before reaching into in to reach for her lunch. As she set it down upon the table, she decided that she would message Nozomi.

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m glad you can at least stick to messaging between classes

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’d be disappointed if you used your phone during classes

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m on my lunch break now, though

**_Eli Ayase:_ ** _Uploaded image9273.png_

**_Eli Ayase:_** this is the school council room i told you about

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi! we have the same lunch break!

**_Eli Ayase:_** we have the same school hours

**_Eli Ayase:_** it only seems logical that we would have the same lunch break, too

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i was worried i might miss you, tho

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t you sit with friends at lunch, though?

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t they mind if you’re messaging someone the whole time?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** no

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i don’t have many friends at this school

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** most of my friends are at the school i’m transferring to

**_Eli Ayase:_** that’s good, then

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** yeah

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it is

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** why do you spend lunch by yourself?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you seem like the kind of person that would have a lot of friends

**_Eli Ayase:_** i _do_ have friends

**_Eli Ayase:_** i just like to spend time by myself

**_Eli Ayase:_** besides, i can’t focus on my school council work if i’m with other people

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s just easier for me, i guess

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** aren’t you lonely?

**_Eli Ayase:_** sometimes

**_Eli Ayase:_** but it’s fine

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** if it’s any consolation

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’d hang out with you at lunch

**_Eli Ayase:_** on second thought

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m not lonely

**_Eli Ayase:_** leave me with my solitude

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that’s harsh D:

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ll have you know i’m great company!

**_Eli Ayase:_** keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** hey

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** hey elicchi

**_Eli Ayase:_** what

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** do you hear that

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s the sound of my heart breaking

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’re an idiot

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** maybe~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what do you do as a member of school council?

**_Eli Ayase:_** quite a lot

**_Eli Ayase:_** one of my jobs is to approve and reject clubs

**_Eli Ayase:_** i mention that one because i recived a club application a few minutes ago

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** will you approve it?

**_Eli Ayase:_** haven’t looked yet

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’ll look at it later on

**_Eli Ayase:_** *deleted message*

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** hey!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you can’t do that!

**_Eli Ayase:_** you did it

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that doesn’t mean you can!

**_Eli Ayase:_** i just did

**_Eli Ayase:_** what’re you going to do about it~?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** are you teasing me, elicchi?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i might be

**_Eli Ayase:_** i might not be

**_Eli Ayase:_** who knows?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’ll regret that later, elicchi~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i can tease you in ways you’ve never dreamed of ;)

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m _not_ fuelling your weird kinks!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** why did you assume i’d tease you in a sexual way? o:

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i didn’t realise you had such a dirty mind!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** altho i’d be happy to tease you in that way ;)

**_Eli Ayase:_** i really do hate you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** <3

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t underestimate me, elicchi~

What Nozomi didn’t realise was that Eli was smirking to herself, a faint blush upon her pale cheeks. As she held her phone in her hands, she leaned back in her seat, wishing that her lunch break would last forever, so she could talk with the purple-haired female for as long as possible.

Their strange friendship was something that Eli wasn’t used to; she hadn’t had a very close friend since she was much younger. The only proper friend she had was a friend of hers in Russia, whom she managed to see whenever she visited her Grandma.

But now, after meeting Nozomi, Eli felt like she might be able to open up to someone again. And she was excited for Nozomi to open up to her.


	7. 07

Eli sighed as she drummed her fingers against her wooden, polished desk. She had somehow been roped into playing the game with Nozomi once again. Her character was still relatively under levelled, with only 1550hp – that wasn’t nearly enough to solo a boss monster, as Nozomi had pointed out several times. Her character had, however, been equipped with strong armour, which was a deep, metallic blue in colour.

**_spiritualpowa:_** come on elicchi

**_spiritualpowa:_** hit it at least once

**_harashno:_** why

**_harashno:_** i don’t do any damage

**_spiritualpowa:_** i want some help tho

**_harashno:_** fine

Eli did as Nozomi requested, placing her hand gently upon her mouse and right-clicking the strange monster, which already had less than half of its health. She continued attacking the monster until it eventually died, and she watched as her character levelled up again. Since Nozomi had started helping her, Eli had managed to gain levels rather easily.

**_spiritualpowa:_** oh, i forgot to mention

**_spiritualpowa:_** i managed to convince rin and hanayo to play, too

**_spiritualpowa:_** they’ll probably join sometime soon

**_harashno:_** am i supposed to know them?

**_spiritualpowa:_** they were in the server when you first joined

**_spiritualpowa:_** they usually play on the new server now

**_spiritualpowa:_** but i’ve told everyone a lot about you

**_spiritualpowa:_** they want to be friends with you, too

**_harashno:_** i see

**_hoshizoranya has joined the server._ **

**_spiritualpowa:_** speak of the devil

**_hoshizoranya:_** i’m not a devil

**_hoshizoranya:_** i’m obviously more alike a cat

**_harashno:_** hello

**_hoshizoranya:_** omg hi!

**_hoshizoranya:_** are you the elicchi we’ve heard so much about?

**_harashno:_** i told nozomi not to call me that

**_spiritualpowa:_** ;)

**_hoshizoranya:_** i think it’s cute

**_hoshizoranya:_** but i’ll just call you eli, if that’s what you’d prefer

**_hoshizoranya:_** or i can call you by last name if you need formalities?

**_harashno:_** eli is fine

**_harashno:_** should i call you rin?

**_hoshizoranya:_** yep!

**_hoshizoranya:_** tis i! hoshizora rin! defender of all cats!

**_spiritualpowa:_** she really likes cats

**_harashno:_** i never would have guessed

**_hoshizoranya:_** nozomi also likes cats

**_spiritualpowa:_** well, ofc

**_spiritualpowa:_** but i don’t obsess over them like you do

**_hoshizoranya:_** obsessed? me?

**_hoshizoranya:_** o:

**_hoshizoranya:_** never!

**_givemerice has joined the server._ **

**_givemerice:_** hello!

**_hoshizoranya:_** kayo-chin!

**_harashno:_** kayo-chin?

**_spiritualpowa:_** that’s hanayo

**_spiritualpowa:_** i’ll never understand where the nickname came from

**_spiritualpowa:_** but they’re childhood friends

**_spiritualpowa:_** so we don’t question it

**_harashno:_** makes sense

**_harashno:_** it’s nice to meet you, hanayo

**_givemerice:_**!!

**_givemerice:_** it’s nice to meet you, too

**_hoshizoranya:_** call her eli

**_hoshizoranya:_** she doesn’t like elicchi

**_spiritualpowa:_** does this mean i get my own nickname for her?

**_spiritualpowa:_** nice~

**_spiritualpowa:_** now i know what to say in bed ;)

**_givemerice:_**!!

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** i didn’t realise you guys were at that stage

**_harashno:_** we’re not

**_harashno:_** nozomi

**_harashno:_** if you keep this up

**_harashno:_** i won’t hesitate to block you

**_spiritualpowa:_** elicchi, you’re so mean!

**_givemerice:_** nozomi, you can’t say things like that!

**_givemerice:_** >///<

**_givemerice:_** just imagine having to say such a thing to eli’s face

**_harashno:_** …

**_harashno:_** let’s not imagine that

**_spiritualpowa:_** i’d do more than just say it ;)

**_harashno:_** i hate you

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** that’s kinky

**_harashno:_** how do i leave?

**_spiritualpowa:_** elicchi, no!

**_givemerice:_** we’re just kidding!

**_hoshizoranya:_** well, kayo-chin and i are kidding

**_hoshizoranya:_** i won’t speak for nozomi

Eli felt herself blushing furiously from behind her monitor, wanting nothing more than to close the game and crawl beneath her duvet, never to see the light of day again. It was as if Nozomi’s teasing had tripled since her friends had returned to the server. As much as Eli hated to admit it, she kind of liked Nozomi’s teasing.

When she returned her eyes to the monitor, she found that two other people had joined her and Nozomi’s characters on screen. There was a particularly buff male character, equipped with vibrant yellow armour. Eli wouldn’t have thought much of the other character, had she not seen the white tail emerging from behind the male.

The character beside the male was a small female, probably no taller than a child. Said character was wearing green armour that seemed to glitter within the fading sunlight. Eli noticed that the smaller character had equally green cat ears upon her head, as if to match with the tail of the character beside her.

**_spiritualpowa:_** you got the cat ears!

**_givemerice:_** rin made me get them

**_givemerice:_** but now i kind of like them

**_hoshizoranya:_** they’re cute, kayo-chin!

**_hoshizoranya:_** just like you!

**_givemerice:_**!!

**_givemerice:_** >///<

**_harashno:_** do you all use the word cute?

**_hoshizoranya:_** of course!

**_harashno:_** i can link you to an online dictionary

**_givemerice:_** i have my own

**_spiritualpowa:_** sorry

**_spiritualpowa:_** i have to go

**_spiritualpowa has gone offline._ **

**_harashno:_** what

**_harashno:_** she did that the other day, too

**_harashno:_** is that a normal thing?

**_hoshizoranya:_** yeah

**_hoshizoranya:_** nozomi often leaves without saying much else

**_givemerice:_** we don’t question it anymore

**_harashno:_** you questioned it before, then?

**_givemerice:_** yeah

**_givemerice:_** she never said much, though

**_hoshizoranya:_** she doesn’t talk about herself much

**_hoshizoranya:_** she just says there’s problems within her family

**_hoshizoranya:_** but we don’t know much other than that

**_givemerice:_** even if we did

**_givemerice:_** it’s probably not our place to tell you

**_givemerice:_** nozomi might explain to you someday

**_hoshizoranya:_** she might even tell you more than she’s told us

**_harashno:_** i doubt it

**_harashno:_** she’s closer to you guys

**_harashno:_** if you don’t know, what can i do?

**_hoshizoranya:_** well she seems to really like you

**_givemerice:_** really like you

**_harashno:_**?

**_harashno:_** why would you repeat that?

**_givemerice:_** idk

**_givemerice:_** rin and i think alike

**_harashno:_** o

**_harashno:_** k

**_harashno:_** a

**_harashno:_** y

**_hoshizoranya:_** if i can be honest for a second

**_hoshizoranya:_** i do worry about her

**_givemerice:_** me, too

**_givemerice:_** she plays it off as simple problems

**_hoshizoranya:_** but it seems like it might be something more

**_harashno:_** something more?

**_harashno:_** what do you mean by that?

**_hoshizoranya:_** i’m not really sure

**_givemerice:_** just see if you can find out anything

**_givemerice:_** you’ll probably be able to do more than we can

**_harashno:_** i don’t know what you mean

**_harashno:_** but i’ll try

**_givemerice:_** thank you

With that, Eli bid the other two goodbye, but not before Rin and Hanayo could add Eli on both Skype and Discord, just as Nozomi had done on their very first day of meeting. Eli then decided to check up on Nozomi’s Skype profile, finding that it read offline. Nozomi had never gone offline early; she was always staying awake late into the night, be it messaging Eli with irrelevant messages or simply watching useless videos.

As Eli pushed her chair away from the desk, she found a soft sigh escaping her lips. She had the same ominous feeling that she’d had before – the ominous feeling that there was something she was missing, something incredibly important. And she was determined to find out what it was.


	8. 08

**_Eli Ayase:_** hey, nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** i know it’s kind of late

**_Eli Ayase:_** but you left super abruptly earlier

**_Eli Ayase:_** i just wanted to be sure that you’re okay

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’re not ill or anything?

Eli placed her phone down beside her, glancing out of her window. It had grown rather dark; several hours had passed since Nozomi had randomly left the game. In that time, Rin and Hanayo had sent Eli a few messages, introducing themselves and stating that they wished to get along.

Though Eli was still worried about Nozomi, she sent a few replies and had a brief conversation with the two, even being roped into a group chat with the two of them. She was certain to mute it, so that her phone wasn’t spammed with constant notifications. In the short time that she had spoken to Rin and Hanayo, she had realised that they were both very enthusiastic with their messages, sending several at any one time.

When Eli received no reply from the purple-haired female, she decided to turn her attention to something else. She passed the time by doing homework and browsing about on the internet, before she grew mildly bored. And then it occurred to her that she had received a club application earlier that day.

Since she hadn’t yet had the chance to take a look at it, Eli decided that she would examine the application in the time she had managed to spare. So she fished it from her school bag, wincing when she found that the edges had curled up somewhat. While she usually kept her papers in good condition, she seemed to have forgotten to do so.

As her eyes moved across the page, she found that Nico had been wanting to start a gaming club. Eli furrowed her brows, confused as to why the school did not already have a club for such a thing; Eli knew that it was popular among many students.

Her eyes travelled down to the club members, reading their names nonchalantly: Nishikino Maki, Kousaka Honoka, Sonoda Umi, Minami Kotori, Yazawa Nico, Koizumi Hanayo and Hoshizora Rin.

Eli felt her eyes widen. The last two names were familiar to her. While the other people were those that she didn’t know, which did make her feel somewhat bad considering she was school council president, there were two that she recognized. Hanayo. Rin.

There was no way that Hanayo and Rin could be the two that she’d met online. There was _no way_ that Nozomi’s friends would go to the same school as her. With a small shake of her head, Eli reminded herself that she would have to ask Hanayo and Rin about the club application.

Several hours passed as the last hours of daylight slowly bled into night time. Eli still didn’t receive a response from Nozomi, though her eyes made a habit of darting back towards the small device. Every few minutes, Eli found herself being distracted from her task so that she could once again check for notifications.

**_Eli Ayase:_** you haven’t said anything for a while

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m worried now

**_Eli Ayase:_** if this is some kind of joke

**_Eli Ayase:_** to test whether or not i care about you

**_Eli Ayase:_** then i’ll admit it

**_Eli Ayase:_** i do care about you, nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** i might even say we’re friends

**_Eli Ayase:_** just say something

Eli debated deleting her messages, suddenly worried that Nozomi would be scared by her heartfelt words, but she decided to leave them. A small part of her believed that Nozomi would need to hear kind words when she returned from wherever she was. If she was having family problems, as Hanayo and Rin said she was, then Eli wanted to be a place where Nozomi could seek comfort.

The more she thought about what could be happening, the more she found herself worrying. She hated feeling so helpless; there was so much she wanted to do for Nozomi, but she had no power whatsoever. She was just a random stranger that Nozomi had met online, with no real impact on Nozomi’s life.

Even when Eli crawled into bed, weighed down by sleep, she felt herself worrying about Nozomi. For a while, she merely tossed and turned, trying her best to calm the storm within her mind – trying desperately to bring peace. But she just couldn’t do it.

**_Eli Ayase:_** it still says you’re offline

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s late at night, so i doubt you’ll reply

**_Eli Ayase:_** or you might

**_Eli Ayase:_** you do stay awake pretty late

**_Eli Ayase:_** but i’m worried

**_Eli Ayase:_** message me as soon as you get back

**_Eli Ayase:_** *deleted message*

**_Eli Ayase:_** if there’s something going on

**_Eli Ayase:_** something that you haven’t told me about

**_Eli Ayase:_** then please know that you can talk to me

**_Eli Ayase:_** i want you to talk to me

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’ll listen

With a defeated sigh, Eli decided to turn off her phone and try to get some sleep, though she believed that her efforts would only prove to be futile. Her small hand reached out to turn off her lamp, the only source of light within her large room. Then she fell into darkness, her mind a hazy mess.


	9. 09

**_Eli Ayase:_** this isn’t funny anymore

**_Eli Ayase:_** i already said this

**_Eli Ayase:_** but if this is your idea of a joke

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s _not_ funny

**_Eli Ayase:_** just say something

**_Eli Ayase:_** tell me something!

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s been two days, nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** what happened to your excitement about transferring school?

**_Eli Ayase:_** what about looking at the night sky at 3AM?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i hate you

**_Eli Ayase:_** message me

**_Eli Ayase:_** *deleted message*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't hate me for this !! i know it's super short, but it's purely for the effect, so y'all are gonna have to deal with it >:c
> 
> jk ily and i promise it will be made up for in later chapters


	10. 10

**_Eli Ayase:_** have either of you heard from nozomi?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** no

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** she hasn’t said anything since she left

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** we would have worried more

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** but we thought she was still talking to you

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** hasn’t she said anything?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i wouldn’t be asking if she had

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s been three days!

**_Eli Ayase:_** does she make a habit of this?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** um

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** i mean

**_Eli Ayase:_** yes or no

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** i guess

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** it’s happened a few times before

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** she once disappeared for nearly a month

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** it was really scary

**_Eli Ayase:_** did you not think to do anything?!

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** we did all we could

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** but nozomi’s very secretive

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** we don’t know much about her

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** we don’t know where she lives

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** tho we assume it’s not nearby

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** otherwise she’d probably go to the same school as us

**_Eli Ayase:_** actually

**_Eli Ayase:_** speaking of schools

**_Eli Ayase:_** do you guys happen to go to otonokizaka high school?

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_**!!

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** how would you know that?

**_Eli Ayase:_** your names were on a club application i received

**_Eli Ayase:_** well, i didn’t know they were your names, exactly

**_Eli Ayase:_** i just thought it coincidental

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** so nico actually submitted it

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** she was meaning to do it for ages

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** but was too scared

**_Eli Ayase:_** of me?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** maybe

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** rin!!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** don’t just say that

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** you’ll make her feel bad

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s fine

**_Eli Ayase:_** i don’t mind

**_Eli Ayase:_** maybe i’ll see you both around

**_Eli Ayase:_** anyway

**_Eli Ayase:_** sorry to bother you guys

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m going to head off for a little bit

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** don’t worry too much about nozomi

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** she’s tougher than she seems

**_Eli Ayase:_** sure


	11. 11

After discussing with Rin and Hanayo the night before, Eli had offered to meet with them at the student council room the next lunch time, where they could talk. The two had agreed, despite insisting that there was nothing to worry about where Nozomi was concerned, but Eli couldn’t help her curiosity; not only did she want to meet the two in person, but she wanted to know more about Nozomi.

As she sat inside the student council room, she tapped her fingers gently against the table, staring out of the window at an overgrown tree in the school courtyard. When she heard a feeble knock, she called out for the people to enter.

What she saw was something that shocked her.

A girl with a bright orange pixie cut poked her head around the door. Her yellow, catlike eyes darted about the room, before falling upon Eli. Those same eyes widened as she entered the room fully, dragging the rest of her body past the doorframe. She then glanced over her shoulder, gesturing to someone beyond Eli’s sight.

The girl that followed next had hair that was also short, though it was a mouse brown in colour. She had shy, purple eyes, hidden behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, which rested upon Eli with a hesitation that the blonde-haired female was somewhat used to. The shy girl slowly edged into the room, her hands clasped before her waist.

“You must be Rin and Hanayo.” Eli rose from her seat, smiling at the two females as she made her way around the table. She wasn’t sure whether she should shake their hands, or just hug them. Before she could decide otherwise, the female with the vibrant hair threw her arms around Eli. “I-It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Rin!” The girl that had hugged her – Rin – pulled away and winked at Eli, striking a catlike pose. That move alone confirmed what the female had just announced: it was, in fact, Rin. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“I-I’m Hanayo.” The other female spoke more softly, her eyes darting down towards the floor. She seemed to avoid Eli’s gaze, as if she was avoiding something harsh. When she realised that Eli was looking at her expectantly, she raised a hand and waved feebly.

“Have a seat.” Eli made her way back around the table, gesturing for them to sit down in the spare seats beside her. Rin did as instructed, almost dragging Hanayo along with her. They both seemed incredibly close, though Eli had already realised that, just from messaging the two of them.

“You look a lot cuter in real life! I bet Nozomi will be jealous that we’ve met you.” Rin giggled mischievously to herself, settling into the seat to Eli’s left side. She wore a smile that almost seemed contagious, though Eli suppressed her urge to smile back. “I guess you wanted to talk about Nozomi.”

“Th-That’s why we’re here, right?” Hanayo’s voice was much softer than Rin’s. Eli couldn’t understand how someone that seemed so shy was simultaneously so outgoing online. It was a mystery that Eli didn’t believe she would find an answer to. “W-We’d like to help, but we don’t know much.”

“Well, I did want to ask about Nozomi, but I also wanted to meet the two of you. You seemed nice.” Eli admitted with a faint blush, turning her eyes down towards the wooden table. She rested her hands in her lap, staring down at her nails, which hadn’t been painted for a very long time. “If there’s anything you can tell me about Nozomi, then please inform me.”

“Well, we only really know that she has f-family problems…” Hanayo mumbled, pushing her glasses further up her nose as she spoke. “We’re not too sure of the de-details, though.”

“If I remember correctly, Nozomi mentioned her mother having to go through an ugly divorce a few years before we met her.” Rin spoke up the next time, taking over with a voice that was far more confident than her friend’s. As she continued thinking, her voice rising and falling in volume as she thought, she sat up in her seat. “It had a bad effect on Nozomi, which is why she prefers talking to people online.”

Eli nodded as she was fed the new information.

“I-I remember her also mentioning that her mother eventually got a new boyfriend.” Hanayo chimed in just after Rin came to a close, also sitting up in her chair. She clasped her hands together upon the table, raising her eyes to meet Eli’s. “From the way Nozomi talked about him, it d-didn’t sound as if she li-liked him.”

Eli finally decided to speak up, “Is her mother still with that same boyfriend?”

Rin and Hanayo nodded in unison, their eyes meeting each other momentarily, before they decided to look back to Eli. There was suddenly a silence that was settling within the vast room, one that made Eli’s heart pound within her chest. While she was surprised that Nozomi hadn’t mentioned such a thing before, she also completed understood why Nozomi might not have wanted to talk about it.

As Eli sat in silence, her hands clasped together beneath the table, she found herself wondering if she should mention to Nozomi that she knew. With a sigh, she decided that she would spend lunchtime with Rin and Hanayo, talking about whatever she could. The two of them seemed to have no complaints about joining Eli for the day.

As they spoke, Eli found herself realising why Nozomi would hang out with people like Hanayo and Rin. She found that she rather liked spending time with the two of them, though she wasn’t sure whether or not she was ready to begin opening up to several people.

All she wanted, more than anything, was for Nozomi to say something more to her, before her worrying became too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a longer chapter for y'all~ ;3 i know you hate the shorter chapters, and i hate having to write them but it's purely for the effect !! <3


	12. 12

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s been a week

**_Eli Ayase:_** i know i’ve sent messages every day

**_Eli Ayase:_** but i’m worried about you

**_Eli Ayase:_** say something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR THIS I HAD TO DO IT


	13. 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAA I KNOW I FORGOT TO UPDATE YESTERDAY SO PLSPLS FORGIVE ME i have exams coming up soon and i was super tired, so it completely slipped my mind bc i needed to get some rest c': i'm sososososo sorry

_**Eli Ayase**_ : goddammit  
_**Eli Ayase**_ : i miss you, nozomi  
_**Eli Ayase**_ : i miss you.


	14. 14

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** damn, elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that’s a lot of messages

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you said you missed me tho!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and you admitted that we’re friends~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m so happy!

**_Eli Ayase:_** what the fuck

**_Eli Ayase:_** is that all you have to say?!

**_Eli Ayase:_** no “sorry for disappearing”?

**_Eli Ayase:_** no explanation?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but there’s nothing to explain…

**_Eli Ayase:_** there can’t just be nothing!

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’ve pestered me every day since we started talking

**_Eli Ayase:_** you sent at least one message every morning

**_Eli Ayase:_** and every night

**_Eli Ayase:_** something must have happened to interrupt that

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it wasn’t anything important

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** something happened

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and i couldn’t respond for a while

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what more am i supposed to say?

**_Eli Ayase:_** oh, idk

**_Eli Ayase:_** maybe tell me what happened?!

**_Eli Ayase:_** maybe tell me why you didn’t respond to me for _over a week_?!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** calm down, elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m here now, aren’t i?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** anyone would think you’re in love with me! ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** not that i’d mind that

**_Eli Ayase:_** stop fucking around with me!

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t you care that i was worried?

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t i deserve an explanation?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** there’s really nothing to explain

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** something came up

**_Eli Ayase:_** what came up?!

**_Eli Ayase:_** what was so important that you couldn’t even send _one_ message?!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** hold on

**_Nozomi Tojo:_ ** _Uploaded image7463.png_

Eli stared at the picture with furrowed brows, waiting impatiently for it to load properly. What she saw was another picture of Nozomi, though she was sat awkwardly in bed as she held the phone just far enough away from her face for Eli to see the rest of her body. Nozomi’s left arm was covered with a thick bandage, though it was propped up by pillows.

Nozomi’s eyes seemed somewhat tired, though Eli could quite easily tell that the purple-haired girl was doing her best to hide how she really felt. Eli’s blue eyes examined the picture carefully, from the tangles at the ends of Nozomi’s hair, to the long-sleeved shirt that the girl was wearing. This time it was a pastel green, instead of purple. It was somewhat tight around her slim body, though the material around her neck and wrists seemed looser.

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** see?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s nothing

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m laughing

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m actually laughing

**_Eli Ayase:_** i can’t believe i got so worried

**_Eli Ayase:_** when all you did was break your arm

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** lol yeah

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s nice to know you were worried tho

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s a nice feeling

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** *deleted message*

**_Eli Ayase:_** how did you break it?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t make me say

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s really dumb

**_Eli Ayase:_** come on!

**_Eli Ayase:_** you have to tell me

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t leave me in suspense

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i could tell you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** on one condition

**_Eli Ayase:_** what?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** call me

**_Eli Ayase:_** video call you?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** no, just voice call me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** my other arm isn’t strong enough to hold my phone for a long time

**_Eli Ayase:_** okay, then

Eli did as she had been asked, holding her phone to her ear as she waited for Nozomi to pick up, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor of her bedroom. When the other female finally picked up, she heard gentle laughter from the other side of the call. As soon as Eli’s ears heard such a melodic sound, she found herself laughing, too.

“Tell me, then!” Eli prompted, still wanting to hear how Nozomi had managed to be stupid enough to break her arm.

“I said on one condition!” Nozomi immediately shot back, her voice almost straining to sound enthusiastic. It was at that moment that Eli’s smile slowly disappeared from her face; though Nozomi was trying her best to sound happy, Eli could tell that she was still in pain. Maybe she hadn’t been taking painkillers for her arm.

Eli sighed softly, “What’s that then?”

“I want you to say it.” Nozomi said, pausing for a moment. Eli’s brows furrowed. “I want you to say that you missed me.”

“Are you--No!” Eli felt herself blushing furiously at the idea of saying something so heartfelt. When she had sent that message, she had wanted so badly to delete it and hide her feelings, but she had left it there, in hopes of making Nozomi realise just how much she was worrying. “I can’t say that!”

“Please, Elicchi!” Nozomi whined. “I want to hear it.”

“F-Fine…” Eli murmured, her voice trailing off into nothing as she tried to prepare herself. Eli had never been the type of person to express her feelings so openly, so being forced to say something like that wasn’t exactly the easiest thing. “I-I missed you. A lot.”

Suddenly Nozomi began laughing from the other side of the call, her voice still managing to sound melodic, even though Eli could just about hear the tiredness lingering behind such fake enthusiasm. She glared down at her desk with furrowed brows, somewhat irritated to find that Nozomi believed her feelings to be amusing.

“Don’t laugh at me!” Eli protested as a small pout formed upon her lips.

“I’m not! I’m not!”

“You clearly are!”

“It was just cute.” Nozomi’s spoke with some kind of rhythm, as if she were to break into song at any given moment. Eli felt a strange wash of relief over her body at the familiar adjective; a small part of her had missed Nozomi’s compliments. “Thank you.”

“Now, tell me. How did you break it?” Eli wanted to quickly move on from her embarrassing confession, instead wishing to laugh at Nozomi.

“Well, I was practising a dance – it was one I’d seen online – after I’d gotten out of the shower. I went to walk past the staircase, but tried to do a complicated step and fell.” Nozomi began to explain, though something about her story made Eli feel uncomfortable. Something about her story seemed almost… off. “I must have hit my arm super awkwardly because I laid at the bottom of the stairs for a while, but when I tried to get up, my arm just wouldn’t work.”

“I see.” Eli mumbled. “That was somewhat underwhelming. I was expecting something more dramatic.” What she said to the other girl wasn’t necessarily a lie; her story _was_ underwhelming. But it seemed more scripted than anything, which made Eli wonder: why would Nozomi need to lie about how she had broken her arm?

As Eli thought, she fell into a strange silence. She waited for something more to happen, but neither of them spoke. It was only when Eli heard a quiet yawn from the other side that she decided to end the call with her friend.

“You sound tired. Get some rest, Nozomi. I’ll talk to you later.” Eli didn’t even give the other girl time to respond, before ending the call. She stared down at her phone, watching as Nozomi’s icon changed from online to offline; it seemed that, for once, the mysterious female had followed her advice.

With doubt clouding her mind, Eli decided to take another, closer look at the picture that Nozomi had sent her. There were things that simply weren’t adding up in her head. Maybe she was overthinking the situation – maybe she just couldn’t accept the fact that Nozomi would have ignored her for such a mundane, simple reason.

One simple tap from her thumb enlarged the picture once more, allowing Eli to get a much better look at it. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to examine it closely, checking the bandages, the background, even the knots in Nozomi’s hair. But there was _something_ wrong. There was definitely something wrong, and Eli would find it that time.

It was only as Eli’s eyes danced down Nozomi’s body that she spotted something peculiar. Nozomi’s green shirt seemed a little loose around the neck area, exposing the tiniest bit of her collarbone. Where the rest of her skin was pale, the tiniest patch on her collarbone appeared to have begun to bruise over, painting the area with ugly purples and yellows that merged with one another to create a colour that nobody liked.

It was a tiny detail, but it disturbed Eli.

And then she shook her head. She was overreacting. If Nozomi had fallen in such a way that would cause her arm to break, then of course she would have ended up with a few bruises here and there. Eli chuckled to herself, closing the picture and tossing her phone aside, focusing only on the fact that Nozomi had finally responded.

Knowing that Nozomi was all right, Eli would be able to push away her worry and focus more on helping Nozomi to feel better. Eli knew that it wouldn’t happen again, and that was enough to soothe her tormented mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i saw from the last chapter that some of you weren't very happy with the shortness of the previous chapter (thank you to those of you that understand why i'm posting the shorter chapters, it means a lot to me) and i completely understand where you're coming from !! i promise there won't be too many chapters of those length, but when they do make an appearance, it is purely for effect, so i hope you can understand why i put them in. c': when i write another fic after this one, i'll try to use a different style that avoids such short chapters !! <3


	15. 15

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** eli~

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** eli~

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** eli~

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** eli~

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** eli~

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** rin, stop

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** you’ll annoy her

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** eliiiiiiiiii~

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** don’t just add more letters!

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** eliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~

**_Eli Ayase:_** you can stop typing my name

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m here now

**_Eli Ayase:_** is there something you need?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** i just wanted to ask if you’d heard from nozomi yet

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** she messaged the rest of us a little while ago

**_Eli Ayase:_** the rest of us?

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** everyone else we play with

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** you won’t know their names yet

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** but you’ll probably get to know them sooner or later

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** everyone wants to get to know you!

**_Eli Ayase:_** okay

**_Eli Ayase:_** but yeah, i have heard from nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** i can’t believe she broke her arm

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’ve never even broken a bone before

**_Eli Ayase:_** but nozomi seems like the kind of person to do that kind of thing a lot

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** did she tell you how she broke it?

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** it sounded scary

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** i wouldn’t have done something like that

**_Eli Ayase:_** she told me, yeah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** i just don’t understand

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** it didn’t make sense to me

**_Eli Ayase:_** what wasn’t to understand?

**_Eli Ayase:_** she fell

**_Eli Ayase:_** like an idiot

**_Eli Ayase:_** that’s all there is to it

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** but

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** nozomi hates gymnastics

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** she said she stopped going when she was six

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** it doesn’t make sense why she would have gone back

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** maybe she just wanted to try it again

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** she always said she regretted stopping

**_Eli Ayase:_** um

**_Eli Ayase:_** what

**_Eli Ayase:_** what does this have to do with nozomi breaking her arm?

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** well

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** she broke her arm trying to do gymnastics again

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** i always said it was a bad idea

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** doing gymnastics isn’t like riding a bike!

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** plus those horse things are hard to jump over

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** i always end up running straight into them

**_Eli Ayase:_** um

**_Eli Ayase:_** what

**_Eli Ayase:_** that’s

**_Eli Ayase:_** not how she broke her arm

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** what

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** what

**_Eli Ayase:_** she told me that she fell down the stairs

**_Eli Ayase:_** she said that she fell awkwardly and it broke

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** oh

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** why

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** did she lie to you?

**_Eli Ayase:_** why would you assume she lied to _me_?

**_Eli Ayase:_** what if she lied to you guys?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** we’re her friends

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** she wouldn’t lie to us

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m also her friend

**_Eli Ayase:_** she might not have known me for as long

**_Eli Ayase:_** but that doesn’t mean we’re not friends

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** aren’t you both focusing on the wrong thing

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** shouldn’t we be asking _why_ she lied in the first place

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** it’s just a broken arm

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** there should be no need to lie about it

**_Eli Ayase:_** yeah

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’re right

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** maybe she did something _really_ dumb

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** like _so_ dumb that she’d make up lies about how she broke it

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** like you know when you fall over from just being a complete idiot

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** so you make up a story about why you fell

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** maybe it was something like that

**_Eli Ayase:_** i don’t think so

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** why not?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** maybe she just slipped and fell in the shower

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** but that doesn’t sound fun at all

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** it doesn’t even sound laughable

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** maybe

**_Eli Ayase:_** that doesn’t explain why she would change her story

**_Eli Ayase:_** why would she tell me something different?

**_Eli Ayase:_** that doesn’t make any sense

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** idk

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** i’m not going to question it

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** we’re probably looking too far into it

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** anyway

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** since i checked what i wanted to know

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** kayo-chin and i will get back to homework!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** we don’t want to disappoint our student council president!

**_Eli Ayase:_** yeah

**_Eli Ayase:_** good luck

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** bye, eli!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** we’ll probably message you again at some point!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just wanted to thank you all for reading this !! i didn't expect to see so many people actually following the story, and it always brightens my day to read such nice comments from you all <3


	16. 16

Eli sighed when she found that Nozomi was still offline. The two of them had made plans the night before to play together for most of the day, though it was mostly Nozomi that was making the plans, while Eli just nodded. Even if she didn’t particularly like playing all that much, she liked spending time with Nozomi.

Nozomi had even decided that Eli could meet some more of her friends, if they agreed to play with the two of them. It would be a chance for Eli to find out some more information, even if it wasn’t much. She would be able to snoop around some more, and hopefully put her restless mind to ease.

Although Eli usually despised playing alone, she decided to log on for a bit. Instead of relying on Nozomi to level her up, she would try playing by herself. Maybe if she learned how to play, she would impress her purple-haired friend. Eli shook her head.

Why would she want to impress Nozomi?

A quiet laugh passed her lips as she loaded up the game, a dark screen reflected in her blue eyes as it slowly loaded.

**_harashno has logged in._ **

Immediately, Eli could see in the corner of her screen that there were several other people in the server. Her cursor hesitantly moved towards the box, clicking in hopes of finding out who the other people were. A box, titled **_Online_** read four names: **_ALPACAS, sonononoda, niconiconii_** and **_tomato_**. Eli recognized the names, but felt somewhat shy.

**_sonononoda:_** it’s you again

**_ALPACAS:_** elicchi, right?

**_harashno:_** i told nozomi not to call me that

**_tomato:_** and i didn’t want my username to be tomato

**_tomato:_** but guess what

**_tomato:_** we don’t all get what we want

**_harashno:_** i’m telling you not to call me elicchi

**_ALPACAS:_** we’ll call you eli, dw

**_niconiconii:_** i should call you student council president

**_niconiconii:_** lol i didn’t realise it was you at first

**_harashno:_** um

**_harashno:_** i’m sorry but

**_harashno:_** am i supposed to know you?

**_tomato:_** that’s awkward

**_niconiconii:_** how can you not remember such a cute face?!

**_niconiconii:_** i even acted super nice when i spoke to you!

**_niconiconii:_** the least you could do is remember me!

**_harashno:_** i have a horrible memory

**_harashno:_** my apologies

**_niconiconii:_** it’s nico

**_niconiconii:_** yazawa nico

**_niconiconii:_** i submitted a club application

**_harashno:_** oh!

**_harashno:_** i remember now!

**_harashno:_** i’m so sorry, i’m usually good with names

**_sonononoda:_** we all really hope you accept the application

**_ALPACAS:_** yeah, it would mean a lot to us all

**_harashno:_** what

**_harashno:_** you all go to otonokizaka high school?

**_tomato:_** we do

**_tomato:_** as student council president, shouldn’t you know us all?

**_harashno:_** i was never told your actual names…

**_tomato:_** i suppose so

**_ALPACAS:_** i’m minami kotori!

**_ALPACAS:_** it’s nice to meet you, eli!

**_harashno:_** aren’t you the daughter of principal minami?

**_ALPACAS:_** that’s right!

**_sonononoda:_** i’m sonoda umi

**_sonononoda:_** nice to meet you

**_niconiconii:_** well, you already know me

**_tomato:_** the name’s maki

**_tomato:_** nishikino maki

**_tomato:_** i guess i should also say it’s nice to meet you

**_harashno:_** um?

**_harashno:_** nice to meet you, too

**_harashno:_** i guess

**_niconiconii:_** she’s always this rude, dw

**_tomato:_** i’m not rude

**_niconiconii:_** what you just did

**_niconiconii:_** was pretty rude

**_tomato:_** nico shut the fuck up

**_niconiconii:_** that right there

**_niconiconii:_** is rude

**_sonononoda:_** you’re both annoying

**_ALPACAS:_** i think this is the chemistry between them

**_ALPACAS:_** we both know they’re madly in love

**_tomato:_** kotori shut the fuck up

**_niconiconii:_** we’re not in love!

**_sonononoda:_** maki don’t be so rude to kotori

**_sonononoda:_** i will slap you

**_ALPACAS:_** <3

**_tomato:_** i fucking hate you guys

**_tomato:_** when i die

**_tomato:_** i’m haunting all of you

**_niconiconii:_** maki

**_niconiconii:_** maki

**_niconiconii:_** maki

**_niconiconii:_** guess what

**_tomato:_** what

**_niconiconii:_** nobody cares

**_ALPACAS:_** this is love

**_ALPACAS:_** at its finest

**_tomato:_** shut the fuck up

**_sonononoda:_** i will kill you

**_harashno:_** um

**_harashno:_** this seems nice and all

**_harashno:_** but i don’t quite understand what’s going on

**_sonononoda:_** honestly neither do we

**_harashno:_** well, i just came online to check if nozomi was here

**_harashno:_** i have homework to do atm

**_ALPACAS:_** you should add us all on skype!

**_ALPACAS:_** i can add you to our discord server as well

**_harashno:_** oh

**_harashno:_** sure

**_harashno:_** thanks

**_harashno has signed out._ **

Eli was met with several requests on both Skype and Discord, which she nonchalantly accepted before tossing her phone aside, wanting to focus properly on her homework. She was painfully aware that she hadn’t managed to get too much information from the others, but she had learned that Nozomi had some very interesting friends.

A small sigh passed her lips as she turned her attention towards something else, though her mind was still racing with unanswered questions. Though she didn’t want to confront Nozomi directly about what she had discussed with Hanayo and Rin, it seemed that it might be her only option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all of your comments are so nice and they never fail to make me smile, so thank you all soso much for taking the time to leave a comment <3


	17. 17

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi!

**_Eli Ayase:_** it says you’re online

**_Eli Ayase:_** please respond

**_Eli Ayase:_** we need to talk

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** ofc i’d reply to such a cute face

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but damn

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that sounds kind of ominous

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** “we need to talk”

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** scary~

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t joke around

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s serious

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** okay

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** okay

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what is it?

**_Eli Ayase:_** look

**_Eli Ayase:_** i need you to be honest with me

**_Eli Ayase:_** no lies

**_Nozomi Tojo:_**????

**_Eli Ayase:_** how did you actually break your arm?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** lol what

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i already told you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t be forgetful, elicchi!

**_Eli Ayase:_** then tell me again

**_Eli Ayase:_** how did you break your arm

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i fell

**_Eli Ayase:_** doing what?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** dancing

**_Eli Ayase:_** is that so?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** jeez, elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what is this

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** an interrogation?

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’re lying to me, nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** you told rin and hanayo something different

**_Eli Ayase:_** did you not?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you don’t even know rin and hanayo

**_Eli Ayase:_** we started talking

**_Eli Ayase:_** after you introduced me to them

**_Eli Ayase:_** you told them that you broke it doing gymnastics

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i swear i told them the same thing

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** maybe they’re lying

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** anyway

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** isn’t the sky pretty today

**_Eli Ayase:_** stop

**_Eli Ayase:_** stop avoiding this

**_Eli Ayase:_** i want to know what’s going on

**_Eli Ayase:_** you either lied to me

**_Eli Ayase:_** or you lied to them

**_Eli Ayase:_** or perhaps

**_Eli Ayase:_** you lied to us both

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i don’t want to talk about this

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s a broken arm

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re looking into it too much

**_Eli Ayase:_** what are you hiding?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m not hiding anything!

**_Eli Ayase:_** you can stop playing dumb

**_Eli Ayase:_** i want to know

**_Eli Ayase:_** you can keep trying to hide it from me

**_Eli Ayase:_** but i’ll find out eventually

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m not hiding anything from you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so you can stop looking

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** if there was something wrong

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i would tell you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** why can’t you just trust me on this?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m worried about you!

**_Eli Ayase:_** there’s something else going on

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** you can tell me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** no, i can’t

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** if i could tell you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i would have done

**_Eli Ayase:_** so there is something

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** just stop

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** please

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** stop prying into my life

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** before someone gets hurt

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** *deleted message*

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m not trying to hurt you

**_Eli Ayase:_** is someone hurting you, nozomi?

**_Eli Ayase:_** please

**_Eli Ayase:_** i want to protect you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t message me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re digging too deep

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** they’ll suspect something

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m sorry, elicchi

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi, please

**_Eli Ayase:_** i just want to help!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** goodbye

**_Nozomi Tojo has gone offline._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might have to change my update schedule so i post maybe a couple times a week instead of every day ??? it's only bc it's hard to keep on top of chapters AND do a sufficient amount of revision every day c': i apologize in advance if that does happen !!


	18. 18.

Eli sat alone in the student council room, her eyes staring out of the window. She wasn’t looking at anything in particular, just staring beyond what was right in front of her, her mind whirring with angry thoughts. There was so much she wanted to say to Nozomi, but with Nozomi now ignoring her on all messaging services, there was nothing more she could do.

Maybe it had been wrong for Eli to push so far. Maybe she should have been more patient, or approached the situation from a different angle. But she was _worried_. She cared about Nozomi too much to sit by and ignore such simple facts.

A gentle sigh escaped Eli’s lips, the sound resonating around the vast room, before everything plunged into silence once more. Eli had been finding herself even more stressed lately, not just because she was worried about Nozomi, but because she had upcoming exams that she wasn’t prepared for. Had the purple-haired girl not made an irreplaceable entry into Eli’s life, she would have easily been able to focus on revision.

But she couldn’t.

Now that she had met Nozomi, now that she had accepted that she cared about someone other than herself, she didn’t want to go back to how she was before. Eli didn’t want to go back to sitting on her own, knowing that everyone was afraid to approach her. She didn’t want to return to ignoring everyone she encountered; she wanted to care about someone, and she wanted them to care in return.

Eli might even say she loved Nozomi.

She laughed aloud, shaking the thought from her head as soon as it emerged. There was _no way_. It was impossible for her to fall for a girl she’d never even met. Nozomi was too different, too outgoing, compared to how quiet and reserved Eli was. And yet, even as she banished the thought from her mind, she couldn’t help wondering if maybe her feelings were something more.

A loud knock interrupted her thoughts. Eli sat up in her chair, requesting for the person to enter the room. The door opened to reveal Rin and Hanayo, accompanied by several other people. Immediately, Eli could recognize the girl with black pigtails: Nico. There was also a girl with red hair, whose purple eyes glared down at the floor, as if she wanted to be anywhere other than the student council room.

Behind the first group were three other females, all of similar height. There was a female with ash blonde hair, styled with a small loop upon her head. Her glittering golden eyes told Eli that she was Minami Kotori, daughter of Principal Minami. Beside Kotori stood a female with deep blue hair, though she seemed somewhat reluctant to enter the room – was she shy? Alongside the other two, a grinning female with shocking orange hair stood, though she was quick to burst into the room behind Rin.

“Eli!” Rin exclaimed aloud, grinning at the blonde-haired girl, who sat with wide eyes as the large group bustled into the room, barely managing to fit at the other end of the table. Nico yelped loudly as Kotori bumped into her back, causing her to stumble forward and collide with the table.

“I didn’t expect to see you guys here…” Eli found herself somewhat speechless. She hadn’t been faced with so many people in such a long time, and she wasn’t too sure how to respond. It was even worse that she didn’t know all of their names.

“I’m Honoka!” The female with orange hair, whose hands rested upon Rin’s shoulders called out to Eli, ensnaring her attention. “I didn’t get to come online the other day, but I really wanted to talk to you!”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Eli mumbled in response, though her brain wasn’t functioning well enough to ask the immediate questions that came to her mind.

The females began to move further into the room, taking a seat at the table. Rin sat herself besides Eli, as usual, with Hanayo sitting on the other side of Rin. Honoka, who Eli already knew was overly enthusiastic, decided to sit on the other side of Eli, still grinning widely. Nico ended up sat next to Maki, though neither seemed very happy about it. Kotori sat beside the female with deep blue hair, who Eli could only assume was Umi.

“We decided that, s-since we all go to the same school, we may as well be friends. After all, you seem kind of l-lonely, Eli.” Hanayo spoke up before the others, her soft voice echoing around the room that had once been quiet, but was now slowly being filled with idle chatter. “We don’t want you to be lonely.”

“That’s if you don’t mind us intruding, of course!” Kotori’s higher-pitched voice addressed Eli afterwards, her golden eyes full of nothing but sincere kindness. Eli’s eyes examined each female in turn, her mouth never quite managing to close. She was in awe.

“Plus, we think it’s important to talk about Nozomi.” Umi’s deeper, soothing voice joined the others. She seemed far more serious than the other females, despite her somewhat shy nature. It was clear that, like Eli, Umi preferred to be around people that she felt close to. “Did something happen between the two of you?”

It took a moment for Eli to realise that she was actually supposed to respond, before she stammered, “Y-Yeah, actually.” The others seemed to nod in unison, as if they’d all predicted Eli’s answers before even showing up.

Nico decided to pipe up. “We figured as much. Nozomi’s completely disappeared, and we’re not too sure what’s going on. Do you know anything?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Of course you wouldn’t know anything.” Maki muttered to herself, her eyes never once looking to Eli. They always stared away from her, at the wall, at the door, at the floor. It almost made Eli uncomfortable, though she knew that the other females wouldn’t want her to feel that way. “You’re partially the reason, after all.”

“Maki, shut up.” Nico’s voice was harsh as she scolded the younger female, and it almost seemed to take Maki by surprise.

“What do you mean?” Eli’s voice was barely a whisper as she spoke up. She felt her heart pounding against her chest; she was nervous, but she didn’t quite know why. It was as if she feared the answer, even though she knew that she couldn’t be responsible for whatever was going on with Nozomi.

“It’s not our place to talk about it.” Just as Maki was about to speak, Umi interrupted, her eyes narrowing at the red-haired female. Maki crossed her arms over her chest, turning her body in her chair so that she could properly look away from the others.

“You should ask Nozomi yourself.” Honoka said.

“I can’t do that. She’s ignoring me! She won’t talk to me! I don’t even know what I’ve done. I just wanted to help her.” Eli’s voice grew more agitated as she addressed the others. Though she didn’t want to show weakness in front of them, the thought of Nozomi ignoring even her other friends threw Eli into a panic that she didn’t want to feel. “There’s something going on, I just know it! But she won’t tell me.”

“She won’t tell any of us.” Rin murmured, her voice sounding sad, regretful. Eli could tell that the others had been trying to help longer than she had, but they hadn’t managed to get anywhere. Instantly, Eli recoiled, feeling strangely selfish for getting so worked up.

“I feel so useless.” Eli admitted hesitantly, her eyes dropping down to her hands. At some point during her exclamation, her hands had coiled into fists in her lap, shaking amongst the soft fabric of her skirts.

“We all feel useless! Stop complaining as if you’re fucking special!” Maki suddenly shouted, slamming her fist down upon the table. Her shoulders shook gently as she faced away from the others, her head falling forwards. “We’ve tried for so long to help her, and we’ve got nowhere. Yet you come along, and she tells you more than she ever told us! How do you think that makes us feel?”

Eli stared with wide eyes at the female, stunned into silence once again. Nico had turned in her seat, placing a hand gently upon Maki’s shoulder. The red-haired female shook off Nico’s feeble comfort, pushing her chair back frustratedly. It toppled on its back legs, before clattering to the floor.

“You don’t even realise how much she cares about you! Nozomi loves you! Nozomi fucking loves you, and you don’t even care!” Maki shrieked, finally turning her body to look at the other girls, all of whom sat at the table with wide eyes. Nico stood, trying to calm down her friend, but to no avail. “I’ve known Nozomi since we were just children, but I can’t do anything. I’ve been to her house so many times in hopes of finding out more, but she always turns me away.”

“It’s not her fault, Maki.” Kotori spoke in a whisper, her eyes transfixed on her angry friend with sympathy held within them.

“I know.” Maki seemed to focus on her breathing for a moment, her eyes fluttering shut. There were tears on her cheeks, but nobody seemed to want to acknowledge them. She then seated herself once more, running a hand through her hair. “I know. Which is why I want to help you help her. I might not be able to do it, but I know you can.”

“How do you want me to help?” Eli asked the distressed girl, trying her best to sound sincere. She really wanted to help in any way that she could, but until that moment, she hadn’t quite known what she could do. “Name something, and I’ll do it.”

“You need to get back on speaking terms with her, first. Once you’re close enough to ask for more information, I can give you the address to her house.” Maki mumbled aloud, her brows furrowing as she thought further. Eli hadn’t realised that there was someone that knew Nozomi’s address, but important information would be crucial. “When you’re there, you can find out for sure what’s happening.”

Each head in the room turned towards Eli, their eyes filled with hope as they waited for her answer. Eli’s blue eyes danced across each face, her lips parting as she thought to herself. Though she didn’t believe that she was special enough to help Nozomi, she would do her best to try. And she wouldn’t deny her true feelings any longer.

“I’ll do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew, i'm excited to try this new update schedule !! thank you all for being so understanding - hopefully the extra time will allow me a higher chance of doing well in my exams bc i can spend more time studying ^^


	19. 19

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** please stop ignoring me

**_Eli Ayase:_** i promise i’ll stop asking questions

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’ll tell me when you’re comfortable

**_Eli Ayase:_** just

**_Eli Ayase:_** say something

**_Eli Ayase:_** you can’t just come into my life

**_Eli Ayase:_** and make me care for you

**_Eli Ayase:_** only to disappear

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s not fair

**_Eli Ayase:_** this isn’t fair

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s not easy for me either

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** surely you must realise that

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m sorry

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m sorry for pushing you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t be sorry

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s my own fault

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** there’s a lot happening

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** there’s a lot i can’t talk about

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i wish i could, elicchi

**_Eli Ayase:_** i wish you could, too

**_Eli Ayase:_** but if you don’t want to talk

**_Eli Ayase:_** i won’t push it

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s not that I don’t want to talk about it

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s that i can’t

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i _can’t_

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s okay, nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m starting to understand

**_Eli Ayase:_** i think

**_Eli Ayase:_** what you need to realise

**_Eli Ayase:_** is that everything i do

**_Eli Ayase:_** is because i care about you

**_Eli Ayase:_** i want to protect you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** thank you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you have no idea

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** how happy it makes me to hear that

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but let’s not dwell on such depressing topics

**_Eli Ayase:_** i agree

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i haven’t spoken to the others for a while

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** how has everything been?

**_Eli Ayase:_** they’re all super nice

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’ve actually managed to meet all of them

**_Eli Ayase:_** umi seems very protective of kotori

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m convinced they’re secretly a thing

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but they’ve never openly said anything

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it wouldn’t surprise me if they were together

**_Eli Ayase:_** most of them seem to like me

**_Eli Ayase:_** but i don’t think maki likes me?

**_Eli Ayase:_** she seemed really harsh when she was talking to me

**_Eli Ayase:_** the others told me not to worry about it

**_Eli Ayase:_** but i’m worried i’ve offended her somehow

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** maki’s always like that

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** she can have a right attitude at times

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i think it’s bc she’s not particularly good with new people

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** plus she’s just protective of me

**_Eli Ayase:_** does she think i’ve done something to upset you?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** who knows

**_Eli Ayase:_** well, actually

**_Eli Ayase:_** she did mention something the other day

**_Nozomi Tojo:_**?

**_Eli Ayase:_** something about you

**_Eli Ayase:_** …

Eli paused for a moment, her slender fingers hovering just above the keyboard on her phone. She remembered how Maki had spoken about Nozomi having feelings for her, though she hadn’t quite believed her at the time. Yet a smaller part of herself wanted it to be true, for reasons beyond her comprehension.

A moment passed, in which Nozomi sent several question marks, while Eli debated whether or not she should mention the information that Maki had passed to her. She ran a hand through her blonde hair frustratedly, before deciding against mentioning it.

**_Eli Ayase:_** never mind

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s not important

**_Nozomi Tojo:_**????????

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi you can’t do that

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you can’t mention something

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and then not finish explaining

**_Eli Ayase:_** trust me

**_Eli Ayase:_** it wasn’t anything to be concerned about

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you wouldn’t have mentioned it if it wasn’t important

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i know that much about you, at least

**_Eli Ayase:_** hey

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t psychoanalyze me

**_Eli Ayase:_** maki did mention that the two of you were childhood friends, though

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** oh

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that’s true

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ve known her since i was around four or five

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but after a while, we ended up going to different schools

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** we didn’t stop talking, though

**_Eli Ayase:_** it sounds nice

**_Eli Ayase:_** to have a childhood friend, i mean

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you don’t have one?

**_Eli Ayase:_** none that i’m still in contact with frequently

**_Eli Ayase:_** the only childhood friend i have lives in russia

**_Eli Ayase:_** we met once when i was visiting my grandma

**_Eli Ayase:_** they live just next door to her

**_Eli Ayase:_** so whenever i visit, we hang out

**_Eli Ayase:_** we talk occasionally

**_Eli Ayase:_** but we both live very different lifestyles, so we’re never usually free at the same time

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re russian?

**_Eli Ayase:_** partially, yeah

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** h o l y

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that’s so cute

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** everything you say and do makes you more attractive

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re actually perfect pls

**_Eli Ayase:_** i disagree

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m not that great

**_Eli Ayase:_** i suck at being friendly, and making friends

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m student council president

**_Eli Ayase:_** but people are too scared to approach me

**_Eli Ayase:_** they often go straight to the principal, instead

**_Eli Ayase:_** i spend most of my time alone

**_Eli Ayase:_** but i don’t want your sympathy

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you speak as if they’re negatives

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** they’re all things i like about you <3

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i like that you’re not overly friendly to everyone

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it makes me feel special~ ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i like you the way you are

**_Eli Ayase:_** …

**_Eli Ayase:_** idk what to say

**_Eli Ayase:_** just

**_Eli Ayase:_** thank you, i guess

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** have i ever mentioned

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** how glad i am that i met you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** *deleted message*

**_Eli Ayase:_** you did it again

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you love it really ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this new update plan seems to be working out fairly well !! tho i'm pretty bad at choosing a consistent time bc i get distracted very easily c': it'll probably go up at a different time next saturday, too bc it's my birthday and i'm probably going to have to go out at some point during the day ^^;; but this has been working out pretty well, and it's allowed me to focus more on my revision, tho i fully intend to turn my full attention back to writing once my exams are out of the way~ thank you so much to everyone that has been wishing me luck and leaving generally nice comments, it really makes me feel a lot better <3


	20. 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry to be posting this earlier than planned, but it is my birthday today (!!) so i'm going to be out for most of the day. therefore, i either uploaded the chapter much later than originally planned, or a little bit earlier - i chose earlier, obviously!! if these chapters seem a bit boring or 'filler-ish', it's only bc i have some intense things planned for sometime soon~ ;3

Eli sighed exasperatedly as she moved her mouse, directing her character in the same direction as the rest of the large group. Nozomi’s friends had finally joined the server again, and they had decided that they wanted to take on a rather difficult boss monster. Eli, despite her lower level and lack of damage, had been dragged along with them.

Each person had a very different avatar, and it took the blonde-haired female a while to remember them all, but she slowly learned to tell each person apart. Rin and Hanayo she already knew, from their strange catlike features and vibrant colours. Nozomi was obviously set apart from the rest of the group, with her shimmering, purple armour and aura that seemed to stand out among everyone else.

Kotori’s avatar had beautiful, silver armour. It seemed rather light, exposing much of the character’s pale skin beneath the protection. Kotori didn’t wear a helmet, either, which showed her character’s face, with its silver hair and glinting blue eyes.

Umi’s avatar wore midnight blue armour and seemed to be the most protected of the entire group. Eli could also see, from the corner of her screen, that Umi had the most health out of everyone. Nozomi had informed Eli that it was because Umi was the tank of the group; she would take direct hits from the mobs, while the others would take them down.

Honoka’s avatar seemed to have taken the same approach as Rin and Hanayo; her armour was an orange that seemed almost illuminous. As the group made their way through the darkening, arctic wasteland, Honoka’s armour provided them with a light that guided their way.

Nico’s character had ebony armour, which almost blended into the shadows completely. She held a long, heavy-looking weapon in her hands, but wasn’t at all affected by the weight of the sword between her hands. Nico was the highest level out of everyone, and did insane amounts of damage, but had never been able to take down harder bosses by herself, as she didn’t have the HP to withstand many direct attacks.

Maki’s avatar walked behind the rest of them, showing the same lack of disinterest that Eli assumed Maki felt in reality. Her avatar had bright red armour, much like a tomato, and Maki had stated several times that the colour had been forced upon her. The others had laughed at her protests, claiming that it was fine, and the colour didn’t need to be changed.

**_niconiconii:_** this is kinda exciting

**_HONK:_** right?!?!?

**_ALPACAS:_** we’ve been trying to kill this boss for sosososo long

**_tomato:_** idk why you guys think that we’ll be able to kill it this time

**_hoshizoranya:_** we have eli!

**_spiritualpowa:_** you see, maki

**_spiritualpowa:_** the power of the love between elicchi and me

**_spiritualpowa:_** will be enough to take down this boss

**_harashno:_** i hate you

**_spiritualpowa:_** i’m wounded

**_sonononoda:_** you guys sound like a married couple

**_niconiconii:_** the only married couple around here, umi

**_niconiconii:_** are you and kotori

**_ALPACAS:_** we’re not married yet

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_sonononoda:_** what do you mean YET ?!?!

**_spiritualpowa:_** ha

**_spiritualpowa:_** we all called it

**_sonononoda:_** what ?!?!

**_sonononoda:_** WHAT

**_HONK:_** if you want further proof

**_HONK:_** then i once caught them kissing in my room

**_harashno:_** in _your_ room?

**_HONK:_** oh, that does sound kind of weird

**_HONK:_** what i mean is

**_HONK:_** we were doing homework at mine

**_HONK:_** and i went to the bathroom

**_sonononoda:_** honoka, stop with these lies

**_HONK:_** when i came back again

**_HONK:_** they were kissing

**_HONK:_** so i walked away to get some sweets

**_sonononoda:_** this never happened!

**_HONK:_** i came back with the sweets

**_HONK:_** and it was as if nothing had ever happened

**_sonononoda:_** honoka is a compulsive liar

**_ALPACAS:_** this 100% happened

**_ALPACAS:_** i can confirm

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_hoshizoranya:_** woah

**_givemerice:_** umi, that’s shameless! >///<

**_givemerice:_** kissing at someone else’s house!!!!!!

**_niconiconii:_** you’ve been exposed, umi

**_sonononoda:_** WHAT

**_tomato:_** can you all shut the fuck up

**_niconiconii:_** maki, that’s rude

**_niconiconii:_** i won’t hesitate to throw you into that abyss

**_tomato:_** try me

**_spiritualpowa:_** that’s kinky

**_spiritualpowa:_** i want elicchi to try me

**_spiritualpowa:_** ;)

**_harashno:_** no

**_harashno:_** i’ve said this a million times before

**_harashno:_** don’t involve me in your weird kinks

**_spiritualpowa:_** but i don’t want anyone else!

**_hoshizoranya:_** it sounds like you’re confessing to her

**_givemerice:_**!!

**_givemerice:_** >///<

**_HONK:_** o

**_HONK:_** m

**_HONK:_** g

**_ALPACAS:_** does nozomi love elicchi~?

**_harashno:_** how do i kill myself?

**_spiritualpowa:_** come on, guys~

**_spiritualpowa:_** don’t embarrass my future girlfriend~

**_harashno:_** i’m not your girlfriend!

**_spiritualpowa:_** hence why i said _future_

**_harashno:_** i won’t be your girlfriend!

**_tomato:_** that’s harsh

**_harashno:_**?!?!?!

**_sonononoda:_** if even maki’s saying it’s harsh

**_sonononoda:_** then, damn

**_HONK:_** nozomi got friendzoned

**_spiritualpowa:_** rip

**_spiritualpowa:_** i’ll make elicchi fall in love with me~

**_spiritualpowa:_** that wasn’t even my confession

**_spiritualpowa:_** we all know i’d confess in style

**_spiritualpowa:_** i wouldn’t be so lame as to confess over messages

**_harashno:_** you know what would be cool?

**_harashno:_** don’t confess to me at all

**_harashno:_** that would be great

**_niconiconii:_** you know what would be great

**_niconiconii:_** if you would all stop typing

**_niconiconii:_** and got your asses over here so we could kill this thing

**_hoshizoranya:_** oh, good point

**_spiritualpowa:_** let’s do this!

**_spiritualpowa:_** my love for elicchi will give me the power to kill this thing!

**_harashno:_** i

**_harashno:_** hate

**_harashno:_** you


	21. 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies that it wasn't uploaded at the planned time!! i was out visiting family all day, and i only managed to get back a few minutes ago~ i thought i would still upload it today, as opposed to waiting until tomorrow, but once again i'm super sorry for the late update <3

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** are you still awake?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i know we kept you up for a while trying to kill that monster

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** when we started at ten

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i didn’t think it would last until two am

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** lucky it’s not a school day tomorrow !!

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s nearly four am now

**_Eli Ayase:_** i haven’t managed to get any sleep yet

**_Eli Ayase:_** and you know i have a family meal tomorrow

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i know, i know

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but i wanted to talk to you

**_Eli Ayase:_** what is it?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s nothing important

**_Eli Ayase:_** -_-

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** well, it probably isn’t important to you

**_Eli Ayase:_** anything you have to say is important to me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you mean that?

**_Eli Ayase:_** of course

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** thank you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but i was just contemplating what we said earlier

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** well, what i said

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** to be more specific

**_Eli Ayase:_** what part ??

**_Eli Ayase:_** you said quite a lot earlier, nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** are you talking about the doritos story?

**_Eli Ayase:_** if you’re wanting to eat three bags of doritos again, i’d advise against it

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** no, not that

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** baka~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** do you always remember such embarrassing things about me?

**_Eli Ayase:_** yeah

**_Eli Ayase:_** embarrassing = amusing

**_Eli Ayase:_** like i remember you told me

**_Eli Ayase:_** you once put your socks in the freezer

**_Eli Ayase:_** because your feet were hot and you wanted to cool them down

**_Eli Ayase:_** but you forgot about your socks

**_Eli Ayase:_** and by the time you retrieved them, they were frozen solid

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** why is _that_ something you remember? D:

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** why can’t you remember the cool things ??

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** like the fact that i single-handedly saved a family of stray dogs

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** or the time i won a drawing competition

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** or even the time i came first in a gymnastics competition

**_Eli Ayase:_** i remember all of those, too

**_Eli Ayase:_** i just prefer the embarrassing things

**_Eli Ayase:_** they’re all cute little things that make you the nozomi i know today

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** do you like the nozomi you know today?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i do

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so what if

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what if i wasn’t joking about what i said earlier?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what if i really did confess to you?

Eli’s heart froze in her chest, her eyes widening as she stared at the glaring screen within the darkness of her room. The shock upon her pale face was illuminated by the white light flooding from her phone screen. She wasn’t too sure how to respond.

**_Eli Ayase:_** um

**_Eli Ayase:_** what

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m just talking figuratively, don’t worry

Immediately, her heart sank in her chest. As much as Eli hated to admit it, she was disappointed. A small, abandoned part of her wished that Nozomi was being genuine – a tiny part of Eli wanted Nozomi to _like_ her. Perhaps then Eli would admit the feelings that she had for the purple-haired female.

**_Eli Ayase:_** oh

**_Eli Ayase:_** well, what about it?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** if i told you that i love you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** how would you react?

**_Eli Ayase:_** well, i’m not sure

**_Eli Ayase:_** it would depend on how i feel about you

**_Eli Ayase:_** if i felt the same way, then i’d confess in return

**_Eli Ayase:_** if i didn’t feel that way, then i would let you down gently

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** *deleted message*

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** how do you feel about me?

**_Eli Ayase:_** we’re friends, aren’t we?

**_Eli Ayase:_** so i guess you could say i like you

**_Eli Ayase:_** because we’re friends

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i see

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** damn, it’s past five, elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you should get some rest

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** good night, elicchi

**_Eli Ayase:_** good night, nozomi


	22. 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have just over a week of exams left, and i can't wait for them to finish so that i can properly focus on writing some more things for you guys!! i have many ideas, but i'm unsure of what fics to actually put out for y'all ;-;

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** guess who’s hype

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** would it be you, by any chance?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** kayo-chin, you’re so smart!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** >///<

**_Maki Nishikino:_** don’t praise her

**_Maki Nishikino:_** anyone could have guessed you were talking about yourself

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** i didn’t know she was talking about herself

**_Maki Nishikino:_** …

**_Eli Ayase:_** …

**_Nico Yazawa:_** …

**_Honoka Kousaka:_**??????

**_Umi Sonoda:_** …

**_Kotori Minami:_** guys, this is mean

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** i feel like i’m being judged!!

**_Maki Nishikino:_** you are

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** aw, it wasn’t that obvious~

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** was it?

**_Umi Sonoda:_** just a little bit

**_Eli Ayase:_** it was really obvious, rin

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** oh…

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** well, aren’t you all hype, too ?!

**_Kotori Minami:_** i am

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** heck yeah, i am!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** we’ve been waiting for such a long time

**_Eli Ayase:_** um

**_Eli Ayase:_** does anyone care to elaborate?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m confused

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_**!!

**_Kotori Minami:_** you should be the most hype!

**_Nico Yazawa:_** nozomi can finally be transferred to our school

**_Maki Nishikino:_** she would have been able to come earlier

**_Maki Nishikino:_** but the incident with her arm happened

**_Maki Nishikino:_** so she was recovering from that

**_Nico Yazawa:_** but now she’s recovered enough

**_Nico Yazawa:_** so she can finally join

Eli felt her heart pounding in her chest as the new information finally sank in. She would be able to see Nozomi. She would be able to _see_ Nozomi – she wouldn’t have to stare at her through a computer screen anymore. Eli would be able to touch Nozomi, laugh with Nozomi, and maybe even hold Nozomi in her arms.

Immediately, she halted her train of thoughts. It had become more apparent to her lately that she felt something more than just friendship towards Nozomi, but she daren’t admit it to herself, let alone anyone else. Instead, she would continue to suppress those feelings, knowing that Nozomi would never think of her in that way.

**_Eli Ayase:_** she was going to join our school?

**_Umi Sonoda:_** she didn’t tell you?

**_Eli Ayase:_** well, she told me she was transferring

**_Eli Ayase:_** but she just said she was joining a school with her friends

**_Maki Nishikino:_** are you dumb?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i didn’t even consider our school

**_Eli Ayase:_** at the time, i didn’t know you guys went to otonokizaka

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** well, she’s finally joining!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** we’re going to make her feel super welcome

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** the school council room is going to gain a new member!

**_Umi Sonoda:_** honoka, you can’t just assume that

**_Umi Sonoda:_** it’s eli’s room, after all

**_Umi Sonoda:_** we might hang out there most of the time, but we never actually asked her permission

**_Kotori Minami:_** she seems perfectly happy with us being there

**_Kotori Minami:_** plus, we all know she has a thing for nozomi~

**_Kotori Minami:_** there’s no way she won’t let nozomi in as well

**_Nico Yazawa:_** exactly

**_Nico Yazawa:_** plus, if it comes to it

**_Nico Yazawa:_** i’ll use my cute face to convince her!

**_Nico Yazawa:_** she can’t resist my charms~

**_Eli Ayase:_** you forget that i’m right here

**_Eli Ayase:_** and i’ll say this right now

**_Eli Ayase:_** your ‘charms’ won’t work on me

**_Kotori Minami:_** only nozomi’s charms will work on her!

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t you start, kotori

**_Kotori Minami:_** you set that one up~

**_Umi Sonoda:_** that was a good one, kotori

**_Kotori Minami:_** thank you, umi <3

**_Maki Nishikino:_** this is disgusting

**_Maki Nishikino:_** please stop flirting in front of me

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** you and nico are the worst when it comes to flirting!

**_Maki Nishikino:_** excuse me?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** you had her pushed up against your locker the other day!

**_Nico Yazawa:_** ha

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** that sounds kinky~

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** kayo-chin, you were there!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** oh, yeah

**_Maki Nishikino:_** i don’t know what you thought you saw

**_Maki Nishikino:_** but you must be mistaken

**_Nico Yazawa:_** maki’s right

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** of course you guys would deny it ;-;

**_Honoka Kousaka:_ ** _Uploaded image3578.png_

**_Umi Sonoda:_** honoka…

**_Kotori Minami:_** that’s a lot of bread

**_Kotori Minami:_** are you going to eat it all?

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** you bet!

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** a happy tummy leads to a happy mind

**_Umi Sonoda:_** it will also lead to you being overweight

**_Eli Ayase:_** i didn’t realise honoka could eat so much

**_Eli Ayase:_** you were eating sweets only a few minutes ago

**_Eli Ayase:_** what happened to studying?

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** HAPPY TUMMY HAPPY MIND

**_Nico Yazawa:_** she rewards herself with food

**_Nico Yazawa:_** otherwise she can’t do anything

**_Maki Nishikino:_** it’s quite shameful

**_Maki Nishikino:_** pathetic, even

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** :P

**_Kotori Minami:_** eli, aren’t you supposed to be at a family meal?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m at the meal as we speak

**_Eli Ayase:_** but i’m in the toilets right now

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’ll have to get back pretty soon, though

**_Umi Sonoda:_** you do that

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** we can always talk later!

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** let’s call later!

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** we can do some group studying

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** and get even more hyped about nozomi joining us!

**_Kotori Minami:_** sounds like a plan

**_Maki Nishikino:_** i guess i’m not entirely opposed

**_Umi Sonoda:_** i wonder if we’ll actually do any studying, though…

**_Eli Ayase:_** i look forward to it!

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’ll talk with you all later, then


	23. 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my exams are finally coming to an end - my last one is next tuesday! after that, i intend to get back to writing a lot more for you <3 if possible, i may make my update schedule more frequent and upload on thursdays and saturdays, but that would depend on how quickly i can get chapters done and, of course, what you guys would like! thank you so much for being so patient with me through my exams, it really does mean a lot to me~

“Honoka, we didn’t do this to watch you eat yourself to death.” Umi’s irritated voice brought Eli from her bored daze, causing the blonde-haired female to lift her head. She saw on her screen that Umi watched with disappointment evident upon her features as Honoka pushed more bread towards her face. “We were supposed to be studying together.”

“I _am_ studying.” Honoka mumbled as several crumbs danced down her body, landing upon the sheet of paper lying within her lap. It had barely been touched; she had just about managed to write the title, but hadn’t progressed any further. “I’m studying how much bread one can eat in a day.”

“That’s not something to study.” Maki murmured aloud, her voice sounding as harsh as it always had. She twirled a strand of red hair around her pale finger, her elbow resting gently upon her desk as she stared nonchalantly at the screen. “Though I suppose the rest of us aren’t doing too much studying, either.”

“That’s because most of us have finished already.” Kotori’s chirpy voice stood out among the others. Her constant happiness was something that Eli found almost contagious; whenever Kotori was around, she thought it impossible to be upset. “It doesn’t surprise me that Eli’s finished all her homework already.”

“It doesn’t usually take me that long.” Eli decided it was her turn to speak up, and did so somewhat shyly. Maki’s purple eyes turned upwards to her screen, though her expression didn’t change in the slightest. “If you guys ever need help, you can always come to me.”

“I wouldn’t make that offer so easily.” Maki sighed. “You’ll never get away from some of them. Namely Honoka and Rin, who never seem to finish their homework.”

“Hey! I do my homework sometimes!” Rin protested rather loudly, causing Eli to wince slightly. She had forgotten to turn Rin’s volume down, as she was often very loud and took to playing random music down the microphone whenever she saw fit. “I just find it difficult…”

“I try to help her, but she gets easily distracted.” Hanayo said quietly, running a hand through her short hair as she pushed her glasses further up her nose. She twirled her pen gently in her hands, yelping when it fell from her fingers, clattering on to the wood of her desk.

Eli smiled to herself as she watched the others. They had been video calling for quite a while now and she was rather surprised that she hadn’t grown tired yet; she usually didn’t like to call with people for long periods of time, unless they were Nozomi. But as they all sat there, talking absentmindedly as they did their own thing, Eli felt comfortable.

Honoka and Rin were the only two that hadn’t managed to finish their homework, for a multitude of reasons. Honoka had been unnecessarily distracted by food on many occasions – as Eli sat thinking, she realised that Honoka was currently eating her eighth slice of bread. Rin, on the other hand, had been distracted by numerous things: occasionally she found an amusing picture on the internet, other times she was distracted by something to do with cats.

Nico had spent most of her time singing to the others, and attempting to show how cute she was. Eli had heard the phrase “nico nico nii” _at least_ twenty times since the call had started, and she was fairly certain she could mimic Nico perfectly at that point. As they all waited for Honoka to return her attention to her homework, Nico was busying herself with dancing around her room.

Kotori and Umi had been caught up in their own conversations most of the time. Eli couldn’t quite tell whether the two were flirting with each other, or just sharing inside jokes that Eli was unaware of. It was quite clear to Eli that the two were incredibly close, if not romantically involved, as the others always said they were. While Umi was busy doing extra studying, Kotori had been playing games online.

Maki had been mostly quiet, despite her numerous snarky remarks that would pop up every now and then. She merely sat at her desk, playing with her hair and staring down at a book that she had propped up against her keyboard. Eli could see, from the very corner of Maki’s screen, that it was some sort of fiction novel, with several pretty colours on the cover.

Hanayo had conversed with Eli, though her attention was mostly directed to Rin, in an attempt to assist her with her homework. Eli had noticed through the duration of the call that Hanayo was incredibly patient; every time she was explaining and Rin was distracted by something, she would merely sit and wait for Rin’s attention to turn back to her homework.

“Wasn’t Nozomi supposed to join, too?” Honoka thought aloud, though her voice was muffled by the food that had been hastily shoved into her mouth. The others seemed to snap to attention, their brows furrowed.

Kotori mumbled, “I thought she was, too.”

“She sent me a message earlier, saying that she was going to have to skip. Apparently she’s really tired and she wanted to get some rest.” Maki easily answered the rest of the group, allowing them all to nod, before turning their attention back to whatever they were doing. Eli felt a sharp twinge within her chest that made her hang her head, her eyes staring emptily down at her keyboard.

She wasn’t too sure why she had reacted in that way, but knowing that Nozomi had spoken to Maki instead of her was something that bothered her. A small part of Eli wanted Nozomi to rely on her more than the others, and another part of Eli was upset that Nozomi hadn’t spoken to her at all that day. The blonde wouldn’t have minded too much, had Nozomi not spoken to Maki. It would have been better for Eli to believe that Nozomi wasn’t speaking to anyone that day.

The tiniest part of Eli’s brain told her that she was feeling jealous, but she didn’t quite want to admit it. So she shook the thought from her head, internally scolding herself for having such petty feelings. Besides, she knew that it would be stupid for her to feel jealous; Nozomi would never feel the same way about her, and Eli knew that.

“Is she okay?” Eli instinctively asked. Her question seemed to take Maki by surprise; the red-haired female looked up with wide eyes. A moment of silence passed between the two, where Eli felt her cheeks flame up and Maki stared back at the embarrassed female.

Maki’s voice was somewhat softer as she addressed Eli this time. “I just told you: she’s tired. That’s all.” Eli believed she had misheard the change in tone of voice, but it seemed that Nico noticed too, as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Try not to worry too much.”

“Eli’s worried!” Kotori sang aloud, her voice standing out among the others. “She loves her!”

Eli felt her eye twitch, her mouth falling open as she realised what was happening. “How many times do we have to go through this? I do _not_!”

As the others joined in with Kotori’s cheerful singing, Eli felt herself groaning both internally and externally, her eyes rolling as she tried to ignore them. They had originally been planning to study, but as Umi had mentioned earlier, it didn’t seem as if they were going to be doing much studying.

While the noise of the others slowly grew louder, Eli found her thoughts wandering back to the purple-haired female. It was something that always seemed to happen, but the more it did occur, the less Eli found herself minding.


	24. 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i decided to post updates on thursdays and saturdays, now that my exams are over with! i hope y'all don't mind~ we also might be soon approaching the end of this fic~ but i won't say much more ;3

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi~

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi!

**_Eli Ayase:_** guess what?!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what?

**_Eli Ayase:_** you join our school in three days!

**_Eli Ayase:_** as much as i hate to admit it

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m excited

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** that’s cute, elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** your cuteness is starting to show in your personality ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i hope you’re not this cute with the others :c

**_Eli Ayase:_** i act how i normally do with them

**_Eli Ayase:_** though usually less irritable

**_Eli Ayase:_** because i don’t have to deal with your annoying ass

**_Eli Ayase:_** ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** wow

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** anyone would think you prefer them

**_Eli Ayase:_** sorry, did i not make it obvious enough? ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** damn, elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re being very harsh today!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i could cry

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t cry

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t stain your beautiful face with tears

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** …

**_Eli Ayase:_** oh

**_Eli Ayase:_** i was meant to delete that

**_Eli Ayase:_** sorry, was that weird of me to say?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** no

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it was nice

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you think i’m beautiful?

**_Eli Ayase:_** …

**_Eli Ayase:_** well, yeah

**_Eli Ayase:_** you have really beautiful eyes

**_Eli Ayase:_** and i wonder if your hair is even prettier in real life

**_Eli Ayase:_** can i touch your hair when we meet?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i really want to play with it

**_Eli Ayase:_** maybe braid it

**_Eli Ayase:_** i can do a really fancy fishtail

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you can do whatever you want with my hair

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** *deleted message*

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m still kind of jealous that the others got to meet you before i did

**_Eli Ayase:_** why are you jealous?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** bc you’re my elicchi! ;)

**_Eli Ayase:_** *deleted message*

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t objectify me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** aw, i thought you might agree that time

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i can never quite catch you off guard

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** miss student council president doesn’t miss anything

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’ll have to try harder

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ll always try harder for you <3

**_Eli Ayase:_** that sounds vaguely sexual

**_Eli Ayase:_** please don’t be sexual with me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** take it how you wish, elicchi~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** we should video call in a bit

**_Eli Ayase:_** if you want, sure

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i have to tidy up a few things first

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** can’t let you see my room in such an ugly state!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and i have to sort my hair out

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m sure you look fine

**_Eli Ayase:_** you always look fine, nozomi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** just fine?

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t push it

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’ve complimented you enough for one day

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** mm, if you say so

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** anyway, i’ll just call when i’m ready

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so make sure you’re ready for me ;)

**_Eli Ayase:_** just hurry up

**_Eli Ayase:_** *deleted message*

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** what was that?

**_Eli Ayase:_** nothing

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i hate you

**_Eli Ayase:_** i hate you, too ;)


	25. 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: if you're easily triggered by mentions of blood or violence, i'd advise against you reading this chapter
> 
> i feel like i have to put this here, just in case

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi

 ** _Eli Ayase:_** hurry up

 ** _Eli Ayase:_** it’s been nearly ten minutes

 ** _Nozomi Tojo:_** all right

 ** _Nozomi Tojo:_** all right

 ** _Nozomi Tojo:_** i was hungry

 ** _Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ll call now

Just as she said, Eli received a video call from the purple-haired female not even a moment later. With a small smile on her face, Eli answered the video call, only to find Nozomi laying in her bed with a bag of crisps laying on her chest and a slice of cake on a plate beside her. It was very clear to Eli that Nozomi hadn’t moved from her bed; the sheets were incredibly crumpled.

“How do you always look so cute, Elicchi?” Nozomi mused as her emerald eyes raised to look at the blonde-haired female. Eli smiled in response, blushing slightly at the compliment. Where she used to protest, she now found her heart fluttering every time Nozomi spoke. “It feels like I haven’t spoken to you in ages!”

“We talk every day.” Eli stated bluntly, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder. Even though she had been home for almost an hour, she hadn’t yet changed out of her school uniform. She absentmindedly adjusted her green bow. “But I have missed you.”

“I love hearing you say such cute things.” The corners of Nozomi’s lips curled up in a smirk as she shovelled crisps into her mouth. Eli, for reasons beyond her comprehension, found it incredibly cute to watch Nozomi struggling to fit a handful of crisps into her mouth.

“How is your arm?” Eli decided to avert the conversation away from such compliments; the insane pounding within her chest was almost impossible to ignore, but Eli didn’t want her friend to catch on to her feelings. “I really hope it’s getting better.”

“It’s getting there.” Nozomi mumbled, turning her head downwards to examine the damage. Her dark brows furrowed together, a small crease forming between the two of them. Eli found it absolutely adorable. “You should sign my cast!”

As she said this, she raised her injured arm, showing off her white cast, which seemed relatively clean, until she twisted it around. Eli could see, covering most of the bandages, were small doodles or pictures that Nozomi had probably drawn herself. A small giggle escaped Eli’s lips as she tried to imagine Nozomi struggling to vandalize her own arm.

“Is there even any space for me to do so?” Eli covered her mouth as she chuckled, trying to hold back her laughter as best she could. Nozomi, with confusion in her bright eyes, glanced from the blonde-haired female, to her cast, and then back again. “Your pictures are nice. What are they supposed to be?”

“This is obviously a fish!” Nozomi wailed, pointing to one particularly messy drawing with a slender finger. Eli’s eyes followed where Nozomi was pointing and, for a moment, she froze. She blinked. Her laughter completely halted. “Elicchi?”

Eli’s eyes widened, but she forced herself to drag them back towards Nozomi. “What? It’s nothing!” Even though Eli tried to lace her voice with happiness, even she could tell that there was unwavering concern hidden behind her words. Nozomi glanced back down at her arm, before gasping softly and placing it back beneath her bedsheets.

What Eli had seen, poking out of Nozomi’s messy cast, was none other than a nasty-looking bruise. For a moment, Eli convinced herself that it was supposed to be there; after all, when you broke your arm, it would bruise over. But Nozomi should have healed most of that by now, and there was something odd about _that_ bruise.

“It still kind of hurts, admittedly.” Nozomi quickly said, sending Eli a small, nervous smile. There was something about the video call that had grown rather tense, though Eli wasn’t too sure whether she should address the situation, or ignore it completely. She mostly wanted to push the subject further, but feared that Nozomi would grow irritated again if she did so.

Eli quickly responded, “I’ve never broken any bones, so I wouldn’t know.”

“I once broke my ankle when I fell off of a slide.” Nozomi shot back, her voice trying too hard to be light and chirpy. It made Eli want to wince, but she refrained from doing so, instead focusing on talking to the female that she had developed such strong feelings for. “It had been raining, and I wanted to see if I could surf down the slide. It didn’t work, though.”

“Save surfing for the ocean, not for parks.”

“I know that now!”

For a while, Eli and Nozomi resumed their normal conversation, with Nozomi eating her cake nonchalantly, completely ignoring the crumbs that fell everywhere. They talked about what had happened while Nozomi was recovering, and had discussed what Nozomi wanted to do when she joined Otonokizaka. It seemed peaceful, but Eli couldn’t quite ignore the panic within the back of her mind.

As much as she tried to push it away, knowing that mentioning it would only upset Nozomi, Eli couldn’t quite shake it from her thoughts. Every time her mouth opened, she felt the words forming on her lips, but had to do everything she could to stop them from falling. Instead, she clenched her hands into fists, resting them in her lap as they began to shake.

Even when Eli fell completely silent, her eyes staring down at her keyboard, Nozomi continued to talk as if nothing had happened, though the blonde female could hear within her voice that there was _something more_. There was something that she didn’t know, and it physically hurt to think that Nozomi was hiding something important from her.

“I somehow ended up on a video that was supposed to be a test to see if you’re colour blind. You know, one of those dumb tests on YouTube.” Nozomi rambled on, though Eli had tuned out earlier in the story, when Nozomi had mentioned a dating site that she’d been playing around on. “It was really stupid. I’m not too sure how I ended up on that side of the internet, but if you just click the recommended videos long enough, you’ll get there.”

Suddenly, Eli spoke up. “Nozomi, is everything okay?” She knew that she shouldn’t be asking such a dangerous question, but she just couldn’t bring herself to ignore it any longer. All she wanted was to know the truth, so that she could ease her restless mind.

“Elicchi, everything is fine.”

“But it isn’t really.” Eli pressed on, closing her eyes frustratedly. She knew that if she looked at Nozomi, saw those beautiful eyes of hers staring back with desperation, then she would only break and remain silent. “It’s not really fine, is it?”

“We’ve been through this before. You’re just being paranoid.” Nozomi said the words to a tune, as if she were going to sing a song. It only made the anger rise within Eli, threatening to spill over at any given moment.

“Then explain everything to me. Explain how you broke your arm. Explain why you have so many bruises on your body. Don’t try to tell me they’re not there; I’ve seen them.” Eli forced herself to keep talking, even though she could feel Nozomi tensing up from the other side of the screen. “Explain to me why you can never sleep, why you always disappear at strange times. _Explain to me, Nozomi._ ”

When Eli heard nothing else, she cracked her eye open, hesitantly turning her head upwards. What she saw was Nozomi staring back with wide eyes, a lone tear trailing down her left cheek. Her soft lips were parted ever so slightly, as if she were about to say something, but had forgotten her own words.

Eli was surprised that Nozomi hadn’t ended the call there and then, so she forced herself to continue going. She was going to reach the bottom of things while she could. “Are you being hurt? Are you in danger, Nozomi?”

Silence.

“Nozomi, _please_. If you’re being hurt, _tell me_. I’ll come and get you. Right now.” Eli looked back at Nozomi with her hands shaking in her lap. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she believed it would burst right through her ribcage. She was absolutely terrified, but she couldn’t quite figure out why.

Nothing.

“How did you break your arm, Nozomi?” Eli repeated the question that had first led her to believe there was something more; if she could figure out the answer to that one question, then perhaps everything else would also become clear to her. If Nozomi opened up to her about that one thing, then Eli would know what she needed to do to help her.

“I-,”

A male voice suddenly resonated through Eli’s headset. “Nozomi! Who are you talking to?!”

A look of pure fear shot across Nozomi’s face and Eli felt her heart drop. Nozomi immediately sat up in her bed, frantically looking around, her eyes wide as her hands scrambled out around her. Eli couldn’t tell what Nozomi was trying to do – she was either trying to hide something, or she was trying to end the video call before the other person came into her room.

“If you’re talking to your so-called online friends again-,” The gruff, male voice cut out for a moment as Nozomi scrambled about on her bed. The picture shook about for several moments, with Eli leaning forward in her computer chair, words falling from her mouth as she tried to talk to Nozomi.

“Nozomi! Answer me!”

“I-I was just sleeping!” Nozomi’s weak, shaky voice replied to the man finally. Eli watched helplessly as Nozomi scrambled about, the camera suddenly staring at the ceiling as a loud bang echoed through Eli’s headset; Nozomi had dropped her laptop.

“Don’t lie to me!” There was the sound of a door slamming against a wall. A quiet, feminine yelp came from Nozomi’s bed. Eli felt her entire body shaking; she didn’t know what was going on, but she knew that it was something bad. “I don’t even know why I let you keep that laptop! You’re worthless, and the money I spent on it could have gone towards something better.”

“I’m sorry.” Nozomi’s voice reached Eli’s ears again. She sounded fragile. She sounded so undeniably vulnerable that it caused a pang of fear to course through Eli’s veins – the blonde-haired female had become still in her chair, wanting nothing more than to know what was going on.

“Nozomi! Nozomi, what’s going on?!” Eli continued to yell at her friend, trying to get some idea of what was happening on the other side of the screen. There was nothing she could do and it absolutely killed her to know that. “I’m going to help you, Nozomi! I promise!”

“Who the fuck is that?!” Eli heard the male voice once more, before the sound cut out completely. A strange whirring noise filled Eli’s headset for several moments, before something appeared on the screen once again.

Nozomi had appeared in the corner of the screen, but her face wore a look of fright, her eyes wide and teary. She held her hands in front of her face, and her lips were moving so frantically that she looked as if she were pleading with someone. Then a large hand grabbed Nozomi’s broken arm, pulling it harshly away from her face. A distorted cry echoed through the laptop.

Eli felt her eyes welling up with tears as she watched. As she sat there, she knew that she had to do _something_. She immediately began to message Maki, though her eyes never moved from her screen; while she had to do something, she also couldn’t just turn away without ensuring that Nozomi was going to be okay.

The blonde’s entire body froze when a fist collided with Nozomi’s face. The purple-haired female tumbled to the side, landing awkwardly on her broken arm. Her face, now being slowly covered in crimson blood, was just a few inches away from the laptop screen. And the last thing Eli heard before the video cut out completely, was an ear-piercing scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry


	26. 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like i should put the warning again ??
> 
> WARNING: if you're easily upset by mentions of abuse and violence, then take caution when reading this chapter

An endless string of curses fell from Eli’s lips as she jolted out of her computer chair. Her headset tumbled from her head, colliding with the floor rather loudly. Her mother called out to her, telling her to be careful, but Eli didn’t care. In that moment, all she wanted was to get to Nozomi.

She _had_ to get to Nozomi.

**_Eli Ayase:_** maki

**_Eli Ayase:_** i need that address

**_Eli Ayase:_** and i need it _now_

**_Maki Nishikino:_** um

**_Maki Nishikino:_** what

**_Maki Nishikino:_** has something happened

**_Eli Ayase:_** there’s no time to explain now!

**_Eli Ayase:_** just tell me

**_Eli Ayase:_ ** _please_

As Eli typed, she threw her bedroom door open, waiting for another message to pop up. She quickly grew impatient, hurriedly pulling on the first pair of shoes she could find. The blonde female didn’t even stop to find a jacket before bounding down her stairs and towards her front door.

“Where are you going? Dinner’s almost ready.” Her mother emerged from the nearby kitchen as she heard footsteps frantically pounding against the wooden staircase. Eli didn’t even stop to explain, just glanced over her shoulder, sending a panicked look in her mother’s direction, before pulling the front door open. “Eli!”

With that, Eli ran out into the open streets, her breathing hitched as she awaited Maki’s directions. Her blue eyes glanced down at her phone, a short sigh of relief escaping her lips when she saw a new message from Maki. It was an address, with a picture sent afterwards; Eli found that the picture was one of Nozomi’s street, a neat, red circle drawn around one of the houses. She assumed it was Nozomi’s house.

**_Maki Nishkino:_** tell me what’s happened as soon as you’re done

**_Maki Nishikino:_** got it?

**_Eli Ayase:_** yes

**_Eli Ayase:_** thank you

Nozomi’s house wasn’t too far from her own and so, with the worried cries of her mother resonating behind her, Eli took off. She felt her heart pounding against her chest, her hands shook violently as she curled them into fists. Her mind was buzzing with a million and one thoughts. A small part of her knew that she hadn’t exactly though everything through; what would she do when she arrived at Nozomi’s house?

All along, Eli had known that there was something suspicious going on. Though she hadn’t expected something quite so severe, she had _known_ that Nozomi was hiding something from them. If only the purple-haired female had said something to them before, they would have been able to help her.

But none of that mattered.

In that moment, Eli could only focus on moving her feet faster, always faster. The sooner she got to Nozomi’s house, the sooner she could remove her from the danger that she faced. As Eli ran, she began to think – perhaps, when Nozomi had deleted her messages, it was because she had tried to admit her problems to Eli, but grew scared and took them back.

Perhaps Nozomi had been trying to say something all along, but Eli had never quite put the pieces together. Eli even believed that Nozomi had intentionally mixed up her stories; if she hadn’t done so, Eli would never have thought to question what was going on behind Nozomi’s screen. Besides, Nozomi wasn’t dumb – she wouldn’t change her story without a reason behind it.

“Shit,” Eli cursed. She willed her legs to move even faster, beads of sweat forming upon her forehead as she pounded along the concrete pavements. Each person she passed sent her a confused look, but didn’t say anything more. “Shit, shit, shit!”

As she turned another corner, Eli came face to face with another body. She stumbled backwards, rubbing her head tentatively. A muffled apology fell from her lips, but she couldn’t stop there – she wasn’t that far away. She was _so close_ to Nozomi. And so, with nothing more said between her and the stranger, Eli continued running.

When she sprinted past an old children’s park, her chest rising and falling heavily, she realised that she was near Nozomi’s house. The park, with its faded colours and empty swings, was familiar to Eli; she had seen it in the picture that Maki had sent just minutes before. This new motivation was enough to make Eli’s legs move even faster, her mind focusing on nothing more than the fact that Nozomi was within reach.

A burst of speed made Eli move along the street faster than she had before, her teeth catching her lower lip as she found her lungs struggling to continue. It wasn’t as if she was unfit or anything, but she was not only incredibly panicked, she had been sprinting as fast as she possibly could. Her blonde hair had started falling out of her signature ponytail, streaming out behind her like a cape.

And then Eli’s heart stopped.

Her eyes caught sight of Nozomi’s house mere meters away from where she was. There was a brief moment where her feet stopped moving; she couldn’t quite believe that the girl she had fallen helplessly in love with, the girl that meant _so much_ to her, was mere meters away. Eli had been planning the moment she would meet Nozomi for ages now, but she hadn’t anticipated it being under such scary circumstances.

For the shortest of moments, Eli couldn’t quite bring herself to move. She stood, her hands shaking at her sides, as she realised what she was about to do. The blonde female was jolted back to reality when she remembered why she had arrived there in the first place; she knew that she had to try and save Nozomi. That thought alone was enough to make her feet move once again.

Eli ran towards the front door, wondering whether she should knock, or just storm straight inside. Her better judgement told her that she should start by knocking, merely because she didn’t know what kind of man she was dealing with. And so, with her heart leaping into her throat, she hit her knuckles gently against the front door.

“Who is it?” The same male voice that had insulted Nozomi before Eli had left was the one to greet her. She felt shivers rushing through her spine, but she couldn’t back down – not when she was so close. “Hello?!”

When the door was pulled open, Eli was greeted by a man, whose suit hadn’t yet been removed. His dark hair looked as if it had been ruffled by the wind, but still looked presentable. A pair of dark eyes stared down at her, though Eli saw no malicious intent within them. Had she met this man on the streets, she would never have guessed what he was capable of.

“Um, hello.” Eli found that her voice was already leaving her. Where her voice had once been strong and confident, she now sounded hoarse and shy. “M-May I come in?”

“I don’t know who you are. Are you here to see somebody?”

Eli tried to sound surer of herself this time. “I am.” With that, she inhaled deeply and pushed past the older man, despite his low growls of warning. He yelled after her, threatening to call the police. Eli immediately spun around, already halfway up the stairs. Her eyes glinted as she fixed the man with a warning glare. “Go ahead and call the police. I’ll tell them all about the abuse you’ve inflicted upon Nozomi.”

The man fell silent, his eyes glazing over with what seemed to be irritation. If Eli had looked for a moment longer, she would have seen the way his mouth was twisting, the way his hands curled into ugly fists at his sides. But she didn’t; she turned on her heel and made her way up the stairs, greeted by a long hallway at the very top.

Eli’s breath caught in her throat as she inched along the carpeted floor, her eyes wide. She glanced into the first two rooms that she passed, but neither of them were the room she was looking for. It was only when she came across the fourth room, with its familiar walls, that she knew where she was. A familiar bed sat in the middle of the room, cake crumbs scattered across the messy duvet.

A head of purple hair rested against the other side of the bed, facing away from Eli. Time seemed to stop. The blonde female knew that the girl she had fallen in love with, the girl that she had cared about so much, was sat just in front of her. It took every fibre of Eli’s being to refrain from pulling Nozomi into a hug there and then.

“N-Nozomi.” Eli quietly spoke up, not wanting to scare the other female. Soft whimpers halted suddenly, instead being replaced by a small gasp. Before Nozomi could turn around, Eli continued, “I said I’d come and get you, didn’t I?”

Nozomi hesitantly turned her head. Her emerald eyes were wide as she stared back at Eli, her cheeks stained with pitiful tears that didn’t seem to want to stop. The corners of her lips were pulled down in a frown, but she parted her mouth, having so much to say in that moment. And yet she couldn’t quite form the words; her voice had left her body.

“I won’t let him hurt you anymore.” Eli slowly approached the shaking female, crouching down just mere inches from where Nozomi was sat. Nozomi had brought her knees to her chest, her broken arm laying limply at her side, from where _he_ had pulled at it violently. Her other hand shook upon her knee, but her fingers outstretched towards Eli, as if she wanted to pull the blonde-haired female towards her.

Every part of Eli wanted to touch Nozomi in that moment and her subconscious got the best of her. A small, pale hand reached towards Nozomi. A sudden shyness crept back into Eli’s mind and she settled for brushing a few strands of Nozomi’s soft, but tangled, hair from in front of her face. The knuckles on Eli’s hand danced lightly across Nozomi’s cheek and she felt her heart flutter within her chest.

After feeling Nozomi’s gentle skin beneath her touch, Eli couldn’t quite hold herself back. She placed her palm upon Nozomi’s cheek, brushing her thumb across Nozomi’s lower lip. The other female didn’t seem scared by the contact, but instead nuzzled into the comfort that Eli provided her with. Several silent moments passed, in which they merely stared at one another, before Eli remembered the situation that they were in.

“Come on, Nozomi. Let’s get you out of here.” A small smile spread across Eli’s face as she pushed herself upwards, holding out a hand for Nozomi. She needed to get the purple-haired female to a hospital as soon as possible; Eli wasn’t sure how much the man had actually hurt her.

Nozomi feebly nodded, her lips still parted as she placed her good hand in Eli’s pale one. Eli hoisted her from the floor, yelping when Nozomi stumbled towards her. Eli’s arms frantically wrapped around Nozomi’s body, trying to steady her.

A quiet yelp from Nozomi echoed in Eli’s ear as Nozomi’s face collided with Eli’s collarbone. Eli resisted the urge to giggle at her clumsy friend, instead rubbing her back gently. When she felt Nozomi sniffling, her blue eyes widened. Suddenly, Nozomi was sobbing into Eli’s shoulder, her fragile body shaking.

“I was so scared!” She wailed, sounding like a lost child. Eli felt her heart breaking as Nozomi’s quiet cries resonated around the messy room. The blonde female wasn’t quite sure how she could possibly comfort someone that had been so badly hurt, but she was determined to help. “I didn’t think I would ever get help!”

“It’s okay, Nozomi. I’m here now.” Eli murmured, rubbing Nozomi’s head gently. Eli stood for a while, letting Nozomi cry softly on to her shoulder, before she began to usher the purple-haired female out of her house. When they emerged on to the street outside, Eli called for an ambulance, her arms still wrapped around Nozomi as they waited for the vehicle to show up.

Now that Eli had found her, she wasn’t going to let her go again.


	27. 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaa reading so many comments on the last chapter made me super happy!! i love hearing from all of you, so thank you for taking the time to comment <3

**_Umi Sonoda_** **:** wait, eli

**_Umi Sonoda:_** say that again

**_Eli Ayase:_** i was video calling with nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** when some guy

**_Eli Ayase:_** i assume it was her mum’s boyfriend

**_Eli Ayase:_** started yelling at nozomi

**_Eli Ayase:_** he was saying such horrible things to her

**_Eli Ayase:_** and when he came into her room

**_Eli Ayase:_** he started hurting her

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** oh my god

**_Kotori Minami:_** that’s awful

**_Nico Yazawa:_** i can’t believe we never noticed

**_Eli Ayase:_** nico, don’t think like that

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi doesn’t want you to blame yourselves

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** where is she?

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** surely she isn’t staying at home

**_Eli Ayase:_** no, no

**_Eli Ayase:_** she’s staying with me

**_Maki Nishikino:_** i don’t think that’s a good idea

**_Maki Nishikino:_** she should stay with me

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** maki, don’t be like that

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** not right now

**_Maki Nishikino:_** why should she stay with her?!

**_Maki Nishikino:_** _i’m_ nozomi’s friend!

**_Umi Sonoda:_** we’re all nozomi’s friend

**_Maki Nishikino:_** _i’m_ the one that’s known her longest!

**_Nico Yazawa:_** maki

**_Nico Yazawa:_** don’t

**_Maki Nishikino:_** don’t tell me what to do!

**_Maki Nishikino:_** why was _she_ the one to help nozomi?!

**_Eli Ayase:_** maki, please

**_Maki Nishikino:_** why didn’t i notice?

**_Kotori Minami:_** maki, don’t beat yourself up

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** we all should have noticed

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** but we didn’t

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** we can’t dwell upon it

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** kayo-chin

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** you’re right!

**_Maki Nishikino:_** eli, can i talk to her?

**_Eli Ayase:_** she’s asleep in my spare room right now

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** wrong~

**_Eli Ayase:_** sigh

**_Eli Ayase:_** you’re supposed to be resting

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** how can i rest up when all of my friends seem so upset

**_Maki Nishikino:_** nozomi

**_Maki Nishikino:_** i’m so sorry

**_Umi Sonoda:_** we all are

**_Kotori Minami:_** i wish we’d noticed sooner

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** you must think we’re terrible friends

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** i’m so sorry nozomi!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** if there’s anything we can do to make it up to you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** stop

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** all of you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** just stop

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t apologize to me as if it was your fault

**_Maki Nishikino:_** but

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** no

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** stop typing, all of you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** let me talk

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** none of you are at fault

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** if anyone’s to blame, it should be me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i purposely hid it from you all

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i was ashamed

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i was embarrassed

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you all know how much i like to be independent

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i didn’t want to have to depend on anyone

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** there was nobody else i could turn to

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so i hid it as best i could

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i struggled

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** for a while, it wasn’t actually that bad

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i managed to avoid him most of the time

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so i didn’t think i would have to say anything

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and then i met elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it got worse again

**_Eli Ayase:_** when you met me?

**_Eli Ayase:_** but

**_Eli Ayase:_** why?

**_Maki Nishikino:_** are you really that dumb?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i said let me talk!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** when i met elicchi, he started to notice my change in behaviour

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and i tried to talk to my mum about something

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** something important to me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** he overheard

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and then it worsened

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** he didn’t like what he heard

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it started to become unbearable

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so i started dropping hints to people

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** mostly elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and that has nothing to do with trust

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it doesn’t mean i hate any of you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it just happened that way

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** she rescued me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so i’m really thankful to her

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and i’m really thankful to the rest of you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** for putting up with me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** even through it all

**_Kotori Minami:_** nozomi…

**_Nico Yazawa:_**.

**_Maki Nishikino:_**.

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** there are tears in my eyes

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** me, too

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** me three

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t cry

**_Eli Ayase:_** nozomi, you’re crying too

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** wha

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** don’t stand in the doorway

**_Eli Ayase:_** don’t type to me while you look at me!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re doing it!

**_Nico Yazawa:_** can you guys just get together already

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** they’re staying under the same roof

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** anything could happen >///<

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** ;)

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** ANYWAY

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** pls don’t be sad

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ll talk to you tomorrow

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** just know that it’s not your fault

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** for now, i need to talk to elicchi

**_Eli Ayase:_** me?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** yes, you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** when you have your drink, come back here

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so we can talk

**_Eli Ayase:_** owo

**_Eli Ayase:_** okay


	28. 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa i can't believe i'm (probably) coming up to the last few chapters -- it's been sososo fun to write this for you all, and i can't wait to ask for your feedback regarding what i write next! <3

Eli clasped her cool glass within her hand as she made her way back up the stairs. She turned to the right, finding that Nozomi had climbed out of the bed and was instead staring out of the window, her face illuminated by the pale moonlight. Her hair was loose, falling down her back in gentle waves, stopping just above her waist.

“Nozomi,” Eli whispered, trying not to scare her friend. The purple haired female glanced over her shoulder, her vibrant eyes wide. A small smile spread across Nozomi’s face as Eli entered the room, quietly closing the door behind her. “Are you sure you didn’t want something to drink?”

“I’m sure, but thank you for the offer.” Nozomi’s voice was soft as she politely addressed Eli. The blonde’s brows furrowed for a moment; her usually chirpy friend had adopted a serious tone, which Eli wasn’t quite used to.

“You said you wanted to talk,” Eli perched herself on the side of the bed, holding the drink tightly within her hands. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly nervous. Her mind was whirring with potential scenarios, most of which ended with her and Nozomi doing unspeakable things. A deep blush settled within Eli’s cheeks as she shook the thoughts from her head. “What’s up?”

“I’m sure you already know what I’m going to say,” Nozomi began, turning so that her waist was resting against the windowsill, “but I wanted to tell you anyway. Ever since we accidentally met that day, you’ve brought a lot of joy to my life. I wake up every day wanting to talk to you and you always make me smile, for reasons that I didn’t really understand at first.”

As Nozomi spoke, Eli found herself at a loss for words. She could only sit on the edge of the bed, staring at her purple-haired friend with wide eyes, her heart pounding frantically against her chest. Eli’s brain had already started theorizing about where Nozomi was headed with her speech, but her heart wanted it to end with a confession.

Nozomi continued, “The more I thought about it, the more I began to realise just what was happening. Within a matter of days, you had me falling for you. I loved the way you could joke along with me, the way you seemed so shy and unapproachable, but you were actually really good with people. I loved how perfect you were, but I also loved that you would never outright admit to that perfection.”

Eli found her heart pounding more and more as Nozomi’s words registered in her mind. A miniscule part of Eli’s mind told her that she was just hearing things; after all, there was no way that Nozomi could _actually_ reciprocate her feelings.

“I’m not good with words, as you probably already know.” Nozomi giggled to herself, pushing a strand of long hair behind her ear. Her eyes stared at the floor for a moment, before she lifted her head, locking her eyes with Eli’s. “So I’ll put it simply: I really like you, Elicchi.”

Eli’s entire body froze as the words settled within her mind. She felt her heart stop momentarily; she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. For so long, she had been fighting with her inevitable feelings for Nozomi. For so long, she had tried to conceal her own emotions because she believed that they would never be reciprocated.

And yet the girl that was so beautiful to her – the girl that she had fallen for – was stood right in front of her, telling her that she felt the same way.

“Elicchi.”

Eli’s blue eyes blinked a few times, jolting her mind back to reality. Nozomi stood just in front of her, her pale hands clasped in front of her chest. Eli saw Nozomi’s bottom lip quivering and she tried to force herself to say something, but the words were lost in the whirlwind that raced through her mind.

“Say something, Elicchi.”

Eli’s mind had completely shut down. So instead of talking, she pushed herself upwards, moving forward to close the distance between her and the girl she felt so strongly about. Where Eli was usually so shy, she felt a newfound confidence surging within her as her hands wrapped around Nozomi’s waist. Their bodies were suddenly against one another, moulding perfectly together.

For the briefest of seconds, Eli merely stood with her forehead pressed against Nozomi’s, her heart pounding frantically against her chest. Then she closed the distance, placing her lips against Nozomi’s soft ones. Nozomi froze for a moment, unsure of how she should respond to Eli’s actions. But within the next moment, she was kissing Eli back, frantically trying to be closer to the blonde.

Eli couldn’t even find the words to describe how she felt in that moment. She could only bring Nozomi’s body closer to hers, taking comfort in the contact of their bodies. She hesitantly pulled away from Nozomi, her breath suddenly caught in her throat. While she didn’t regret kissing Nozomi, Eli knew that it was a bold move that she wouldn’t usually have taken.

“Ah, I-I’m sorry.” Eli immediately stammered, dropping her gaze as a smirk tugged at Nozomi’s pink lips. When Eli heard a melodic laugh in her ears, she lifted her gaze once again, looking at Nozomi with wide eyes. A deep blush danced across the blonde’s cheeks. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Elicchi. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” Nozomi told Eli, her tone lifted by the happiness she felt inside. As Nozomi ran her fingers gently through Eli’s her, the blonde felt a sudden rush of adoration course through her body. She laughed gently in response. “Thank you.”

Eli’s brows furrowed, “For what?”

“For everything. For kissing me, for feeling the same way.” Nozomi’s voice had lowered to a whisper and Eli could see the faintest blush upon her cheeks. Her heart skipped a beat at this new, adorable side to Nozomi. “For saving me. I honestly can’t thank you enough.”

Eli didn’t have a witty response. She didn’t quite know what she could say in response to such a genuine side of Nozomi. So she sent her a wide smile, patting the top of Nozomi’s head without even realising. Nozomi was simultaneously the cutest person that Eli had ever met, and the most dangerous; Eli knew that there were a million sides to Nozomi, some of which she had yet to discover.

Eli finally said, “You being safe is thanks enough.”


	29. 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic should be finished by next week, wow;; i hope y'all are excited! <3

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Eli glanced towards the female on her left, before turning her gaze back to the house in front of her. Nozomi had insisted on returning to her house; not only did she need more clothes, but she had told Eli that her mother would be returning, so she wanted to tell her what had been happening. “I can go in for you, if you want.”

“N-No, I have to do it. I have to show him that I’m not scared anymore.” Nozomi straightened her back, before striding towards the front door. When she boldly pushed it open, Eli gasped slightly, already fearing what the older man might do.

Eli scurried into the house, closing the door behind the two of them. She and Nozomi stood in the hallway, greeted by a familiar set of stairs before them. The blonde female could hear the faint sound of a television drifting towards them. Nozomi’s hands were already shaking at her sides and Eli could feel the fear dancing off of Nozomi’s body in thick waves.

Biting her lower lip, Eli reached her hand out to the purple-haired female. She took Nozomi’s shaking hand in her own, lacing their fingers together before giving Nozomi’s slender hand a gentle squeeze; she wanted her girlfriend to know that she was there for her. A deep blush settled within Eli’s cheeks as the realisation hit that Nozomi was _her girlfriend_ – it was something she had secretly dreamed about for the longest time, but had believed it wouldn’t ever happen.

“M-Mum?”

For a moment, Eli felt the house go quiet. She clasped Nozomi’s hand tighter, fully prepared to face the abusive man once again. And then Eli heard the shuffling of footsteps nearing them. To her right, a friendly woman appeared, whose features were awfully similar to that of Nozomi’s – there was no doubt that the woman was Nozomi’s mother.

“I was wondering where you’d disappeared to!” The woman’s voice was light and sociable, completely devoid of any malicious intent. She neared Nozomi with concerned eyes, her purple brows furrowing as she glanced at Eli. “Is this the girl you told me about?”

“Y-Yes.” Nozomi breathed, her voice shaking as she addressed the older woman. Eli remained quiet; she was only here to support Nozomi, not to interfere. When the older woman turned towards the blonde, her hand outstretched, Eli could only shake her hand with wide eyes. “Actually, I-I need to talk to you.”

“We shouldn’t stand here and talk! Why don’t the two of you make yourselves comfortable in the living room? I’ll bring some snacks through, and then we can talk!” Without even giving the girls a chance to respond, the older woman scurried away, long strands of hair flowing behind her. Eli stared after the woman, her lips parted as her mind fought to figure out what was going on.

Nozomi released an inaudible sigh, before shuffling through the doorway to the right. Her wide eyes danced frantically around the room, as if checking that everything was safe, before she made her way towards one of the white sofas, bringing Eli with her. The two sat beside one another, Nozomi fiddling with a pillow as Eli stared down at her hands.

“Did your mum know what was happening?” Eli kept her voice quiet as she addressed her girlfriend, fully aware that Nozomi wanted to be the one to explain everything.

“Not really,” Nozomi responded, “she knew that I didn’t get along with her boyfriend, but she never knew how bad it was.”

“What do you think she’ll do?”

Nozomi replied truthfully, “I don’t know.”

“What do you _want_ her to do?”

“If she doesn’t wish to report it, then I hope she at least leaves him. There’s still a chance he might end up hurting her.” Nozomi’s eyes suddenly adopted a look of protection; Eli could tell that she cared deeply for her mother. It was fairly obvious that the two were close, but her mother’s new boyfriend had gotten in the way of things.

Eli’s brows furrowed. “So, where was she?”

“She was on a business trip.” Nozomi’s voice grew louder as her mother entered the room, carrying a plate laden with cookies and cakes. Eli’s eyes turned away from the female beside her, instead watching carefully as the plate was placed on the coffee table in front of them. “How was it?”

“It was all right. I really missed you, though.” The older woman took a seat on the sofa opposite the girls, running a hand through her hair exasperatedly. Eli thought that the woman looked rather young to be a mother, with her tight jeans and low-cut top, but she also thought that the woman looked like someone that would be easy to get along with. “How have things been while I was away?”

“Th-That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Nozomi’s eyes immediately fell to the floor as she moved on to the subject that she had been dreading. Though she knew it was unlikely, she was scared that her mother would turn her away and accuse her of lying. After all, Nozomi had never quite gotten over the loss of her real father. “Things haven’t been great…”

“I can already tell that from the broken arm. I was so surprised when Seiji called me! I nearly rushed home right away, but he said he’d take care of things for me.” The woman’s voice went on and on; Eli could tell that the woman was completely oblivious to Nozomi’s situation. Her blue eyes darted towards Nozomi, as if checking that she was okay. “How did it happen?”

Nozomi stammered for a few moments, her cheeks reddening as she fought to force the words out of her mouth, before she finally announced, “Seiji did it.”

Silence fell within the spacious room as the woman’s eyes conveyed a look of pure shock. She sat forward in her seat, her hands fiddling with the hem of her shirt as her bottom lip became caught between her teeth. Eli glanced between Nozomi and her mother, awaiting the next move.

Nozomi was the first to speak up, “Seiji’s been hurting me since you left. I knew he wasn’t too fond of me from the first moment we met, but at first it was mostly verbal abuse. He overheard my conversation with you, though.” Nozomi paused for a moment, her voice breaking on a sob that she fought to suppress. “When he overheard that I was gay, the abuse got much worse. He told me that I was a monster, told me that I don’t deserve to live. It was really hard, mum.”

Eli squeezed Nozomi’s hand gently, trying to swallow the tears that rose in her throat. It hurt her to watch Nozomi relive the pain that she had been feeling for so long. It hurt Eli to know that she should have stopped it ages ago, but she was unable to. Her blue eyes, clouded by unshed tears, turned to look at Nozomi’s mother, where she found a single tear rolling down her pale cheek.

“N-Nozomi…”

“I didn’t know how to tell you. I thought you wouldn’t believe me, but I’m scared! I’m scared he’ll hurt you! I’m scared he’ll take you away from me!” Nozomi’s voice wavered as each sob hit her harder than the last. She desperately tried to wipe away her tears with her cast, but to no avail.

Before Nozomi could say anything more, her mother had rushed over to her, pulling Nozomi into a tight hug. The two of them cried loudly, as Eli wiped the tears from her eyes. She was happy for Nozomi; happy that her mother had believed her. If things hadn’t gone the way they’d hoped, Eli wasn’t sure what she would have done.

“I’m so sorry, Nozomi.” Nozomi’s mother stroked her daughter’s hair gently, burying her face into the mass of soft strands. Her mother’s bright eyes opened momentarily, meeting Eli’s blue ones, before she whispered, “Thank you.”

Eli bowed her head in response, before standing up to excuse herself; she didn’t want to intrude on the moment. She ran a hand through her messy hair, inhaling deeply in order to control the tears that welled up within her throat, as she made her way out of the living room and into the bathroom. She decided to pull out her phone, opening a familiar group chat that never seemed to go truly quiet.

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** does anyone have any bread?

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** i’m all out

**_Maki Nishikino:_** do you want to become a slice of bread?

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** HECK YEAH

**_Eli Ayase:_** guys

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** eli!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** how did the talk go?

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m at nozomi’s house as we speak

**_Eli Ayase:_** her mother took it really well

**_Eli Ayase:_** i think

**_Eli Ayase:_** i think nozomi’s going to be fine now


	30. 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've been so looking forward to updating this week! i should probably say in advance that my update on saturday may come a bit earlier (i'm going to a convention for most of the day and i'm not sure how late it'll be when i get back, so i'll try to update before i leave) and it'll come with an A/N afterwards, so please read that for some extra information! once again, thank you all sosososo much for reading <3

Eli returned to the living room several minutes after leaving Nozomi and her mother. She found that Nozomi’s mother had disappeared back into the kitchen, where she could hear plates being moved around. Nozomi was sat back on the sofa, clutching a pillow to her chest as her tears dried on her cheeks.

“Nozomi, are you okay?” Eli lingered in the doorway for a moment, resting her waist against the wood. She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes adopting a nurturing tone as she stared at her girlfriend.

“Yeah. I’m happy.” Nozomi’s teary eyes suddenly glimmered as a gentle smile spread across her face. For once, Eli could tell that she was being genuinely honest; there was nothing hidden behind Nozomi’s expression. Eli’s heart fluttered. “I didn’t expect things to go so well.”

“I’m happy for you.” Eli murmured, stumbling further into the room. She seated herself beside Nozomi once more, reaching out to grab a cake from the plate in front of her. It was sweet as she ate it, leaning back into the soft sofa. “Where did your mum go?”

“She wanted to make lunch for the two of us. I think she wants to talk more, get to know you.” Nozomi responded, giggling childishly as she stole the cake from Eli’s hands. She took a huge bite from the cake, before handing it back to the blonde female. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, it sounds like it would be fun.” Eli replied.

And then the moment shattered.

A loud bang resonated through the house. The front door had been slammed against the wall, before Eli heard a loud curse. She immediately sat up straight, noticing how rigid Nozomi had become beside her. Her eyes had widened, her hands shaking as she grasped the pillow even tighter.

The man that Eli had seen the other day suddenly appeared in the doorway, his eyes narrowed at the two girls. He ran a hand through his hair, before stomping through the living room, chucking his coat towards the sofa. Nozomi immediately flinched away, squeezing her eyes shut as a quiet yelp escaped her lips.

“Seiji, is that you?” Nozomi’s mother appeared in an archway behind Eli, her brows furrowed. She wiped her hands on a fluffy towel as the man greeted her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Just as he was about to walk past her and further into the house, she grasped his arm gently. “Sit down for a minute! You haven’t met Eli yet, have you?”

The man glanced over his shoulder at the blonde, his dark eyes glazing over with an emotion that made Eli want to cower away. She understood why Nozomi had been so scared for so long. The man – Seiji – grumbled under his breath about being tired, but Nozomi’s mother was insistent on him sitting with the two girls. With a long sigh, he did as he was told.

“I’ll be right back with some drinks!” Nozomi’s mother disappeared back into the kitchen with a wide smile, though there was a glint in her eyes that made Eli’s brows furrow together. She turned back around in her seat, narrowing her eyes at the older man as he seated himself on the opposite sofa.

There was so much Eli wanted to say to him and yet, as she opened her mouth to being her rambling, he merely clicked his tongue against his teeth, turning away. Eli inhaled deeply, clenching her hands into fists as they began to shake in her lap. For Nozomi’s sake, she would sit quietly and she would refrain from lashing out.

The sound of footsteps was enough to ensure that Eli remained quiet. She glanced over her shoulder to find Nozomi’s mother scurrying towards the sofa with a large glass in her hand. It was full of a liquid that looked similar to that of alcohol, and Eli was confused as to why Nozomi’s mother was being so hospitable to a man that had inflicted so much pain upon her daughter. But Eli’s question was answered before she even needed to ask.

As Nozomi’s mother approached Seiji, she tipped the glass forward, spilling the liquid on to the dark-haired man. His eyes widened as the sticky substance rolled down his head and on to his clothing. Nozomi’s eyes were wide as he pushed himself upwards, his fists clenched. He moved as if he was going to punch Nozomi’s mother, but before he could do so, her smaller hand had grabbed his fist gently.

“You should probably take that suit to the dry cleaner’s. It looks dirty.” Her voice was sickly sweet as she addressed him, the smile upon her face never once wavering. “And while you’re at it, you can stay away from this house. I don’t want you anywhere near me or my daughter.”

Seiji suddenly snapped, “What the fuck?”

“Run along! I’m sure there’s a lovely police officer waiting outside!” With that, she placed her hands upon Seiji’s shoulders and steered him back towards the front door. Nozomi watched on with wide eyes, their sparkle finally returning. “Since you won’t be coming back, I think I’ll be selling most of your belongings. Goodbye!”

The front door slammed shut, before Nozomi’s mother reappeared. The smile upon her face was almost as big as the mischievous glint in her eyes. Eli found herself laughing aloud, completely shocked by what had just happened; she had thought that Nozomi’s mother was going to accept Seiji back into their home at first, but her response had been much better than Eli could ever expect.

“You know, Ms. Tojo, I think we’re going to get along just fine!” Eli grinned, meeting Nozomi’s mother’s hand as they exchanged a high five. Just as she had threatened, the sound of police sirens rang out. Eli turned to look at Nozomi, her smile meeting her eyes as she pulled the purple-haired female into a tight hug. “It’s fine now, Nozomi. You’re going to be fine now.”

Nozomi’s eyes became tearful as she looked at the girl she loved so dearly. “Thank you, Eli. I never could have done this without you.”


	31. 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't believe this is actually the end of the fic -- it feels like so long ago since i started writing this and i never expected so many people to actually like it! pls pls pls read the AN that comes after this chapter; it'll have extra information for y'all ;3

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** cutiepie

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** cupcake

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** baby

**_Eli Ayase:_** i might be your girlfriend

**_Eli Ayase:_** but i don’t want a cringey nickname

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’ll keep calling you elicchi, then

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i just wanted your attention tho

**_Eli Ayase:_** for what?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** look!

**_Eli Ayase:_**?

**_Eli Ayase:_** am i supposed to see something?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** shit

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** hold on

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it didn’t send

**_Nozomi Tojo:_ ** _Uploaded image2736.png_

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** look!

**_Eli Ayase:_** well, you’ve tidied up your room

**_Eli Ayase:_** is that a new desk?

**_Eli Ayase:_** you have a lot of figurines

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m jealous

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but look what else i have!

**_Eli Ayase:_** is that a new PC?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** yup~

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** my mum bought it for me

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** she had a lot of extra money after the business trip

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** she was going to spend it on an expensive holiday

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** but felt bad about having to leave me for trips all the time

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** and i suppose she felt bad about the thing with seiji

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** so she bought me a gaming PC

**_Eli Ayase:_** damn

**_Eli Ayase:_** it looks really nice

**_Eli Ayase:_** especially your keyboard

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** oo, wait!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_ ** _Uploaded image8465.png_

**_Eli Ayase:_** it’s rainbow, too!

**_Eli Ayase:_** i’m so jealous

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i love it!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** almost as much as i love you ;)

**_Eli Ayase:_** you really need to stop

**_Eli Ayase:_** how do you shove cheesy pick up lines into everything?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it’s my talent!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** it came in very useful with you ;)

**_Eli Ayase:_** i love you too

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** oh

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** wasn’t expecting you to say it back

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i’m blushing

**_Eli Ayase:_** i bet you look cute

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re distracting me!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i wanted to ask

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** if you wanted to play for a bit

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i just finished installing some games on to the PC

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** i wanted to try them out

**_Eli Ayase:_** sure

**_Eli Ayase:_** anything for you

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you’re taking my tricks!

**_Eli Ayase:_** ;)

**_Maki Nishikino:_** you guys do realise this is the group chat, right?

After what had happened with Seiji the other day, Nozomi had been able to safely move back into her own home. Seiji had been taken off to the police station, where he had been charged with numerous accounts of abuse. Eli knew that he wouldn’t be seen near Nozomi or her mother ever again; they had been told to inform the police if he ever came near them.

**_Maki Nishikino:_** if the two of you don’t stop flirting

**_Maki Nishikino:_** i’m actually going to throw up

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** i think it’s cute! >///<

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** not as cute as my bread!

**_Honoka Kousaka:_ ** _Uploaded image7626.png_

**_Umi Sonoda:_** honoka…

**_Umi Sonoda:_** did you actually draw a face on your bread?

**_Kotori Minami:_** it’s so cute!

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** right?!

The other girls had visited Nozomi after the incident, each apologizing for not noticing sooner. Nozomi told all of them the same thing: that it wasn’t their fault, and that she wasn’t mad at anyone other than herself. Even Nozomi’s mother had been very adamant that the others didn’t blame themselves for what had happened.

It was all turning out to be the happy ending that Nozomi deserved after enduring such hardships.

**_Nico Yazawa:_** what did i miss

**_Nico Yazawa:_** cocoa wanted a snack

**_Nico Yazawa:_** i had to help

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** you should bring your siblings next time you come round!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** they’re so cute

**_Nico Yazawa:_** not as cute as me!

**_Maki Nishikino:_** ha

**_Maki Nishikino:_** you’re not cute nico

**_Nico Yazawa:_** oh?

**_Nico Yazawa:_** that’s not what you were saying yesterday

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** woah

**_Rin Hoshizora:_** what happened yesterday

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** was it something sexual?! >///<

**_Maki Nishikino:_** nico shut the fuck up

**_Nico Yazawa:_** whatever you say

**_Eli Ayase:_** that’s awfully suspicious

**_Honoka Kousaka:_ ** _Uploaded image8375.png_

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** my bread is a detective!

**_Honoka Kousaka:_** it will figure out what really happened!

**_Umi Sonoda:_** honoka, you just drew a monocle

**_Umi Sonoda:_** that doesn’t make it a detective

**_Kotori Minami:_** umi-chan!

**_Kotori Minami:_** we need to be supportive of bread-chan!

**_Kotori Minami:_** if bread-chan wants to be a detective

**_Kotori Minami:_** then we must encourage bread-chan!

**_Eli Ayase:_** you hear that, umi?

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** your girlfriend has spoken!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** she wouldn’t actually

**_Umi Sonoda:_** y-you can do it, bread-chan!

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** she actually did it

**_Hanayo Koizumi:_** >///<

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** the power of love!

**_Maki Nishikino:_** aren’t you two supposed to be playing

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** good point!

**_Nozomi Tojo:_** elicchi, hurry up!

Eli smiled to herself as she seated herself at her PC, loading up a game that she’d believed she would have no interest in. When she’d loaded it up for the first time, she’d had no idea that she would meet such wonderful people in doing so. But, as she joined a party with Nozomi, she realised that she was grateful to Alisa for encouraging her to play.

**_spiritualpowa:_** all right

**_spiritualpowa:_** it’s running pretty well

**_spiritualpowa:_** let’s go and jump into the server

**_spiritualpowa:_** and mess around for a bit

**_spiritualpowa:_** i want to sort out graphics and such

**_spiritualpowa:_** you’re the party leader

**_harashno:_** all right

**_harashno:_** all right

**_harashno:_** calm down

Eli rolled her eyes as she began to type the numbers for the server, absentmindedly picking at a loose thread on her shirt. She hit the enter bar once she’d finished typing the code, watching as the grey box disappeared from her screen. Her computer screen faded into black, before she saw a familiar snowy wasteland, though there was a large mansion to her right.

**_spiritualpowa has joined the server._ **

**_harashno has joined the server._ **

**_spiritualpowa:_** elicchi…

**_tsubasnya:_** who are you guys?

**_harashno:_** no

**_harashno:_** not again

**_erenya:_** this is supposed to be a private server

**_nyanju:_** it’s nice to meet you guys!

**_erenya:_** don’t greet them like we’re friends

**_erenya:_** this is supposed to be _our_ server

**_spiritualpowa:_** elicchi…

**_spiritualpowa:_** let me be party leader next time

**_harashno:_** why does this keep happening to me

**_spiritualpowa:_** well, while we’re here

**_spiritualpowa:_** we may as well make friends

**_spiritualpowa:_** it’s nice to meet you guys!

**_spiritualpowa:_** i’m nozomi

**_spiritualpowa:_** and this is elicchi

**_spiritualpowa:_** my girlfriend

**_tsubasnya:_** it’s nice to meet you, too

**_erenya:_** what kind of a name is harashno?

**_spiritualpowa:_** ha!

**_spiritualpowa:_** i said the same thing when we first met

**_harashno:_** i hate you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> side note: yes, A-RISE's usernames are supposed to be similar with the "nya" bc it signifies that they're a group, i promise it wasn't just me being the lazy cat lady that i am c;


	32. A/N

Congratulations of reaching the end of this fan fiction! Thank you so, so much for reading all the way through and (hopefully) enjoying it! This was actually an idea I came up with on a whim because I decided I wanted to do a fic based around gaming (since I do play a lot of games myself) and decided to adapt it to fit NozoEli. When I first started posting it, I didn't really expect anyone to read this. I thought some friends of mine might read it and leave some pity comments for me, but I suddenly started seeing comments every time I uploaded and it made me so happy. It still makes me happy every day to realise that people are reading and enjoying something that I wrote! Writing is something that I really love doing and I've posted around on other websites, but none of them ever seemed to get noticed and people didn't seem to care all that much. I know I'm speaking as if I have millions of readers, but it really does blow my mind that even one person would want to read something of mine. So thank you! Thank you so much for reading each chapter, thank you so much for sticking through me when I had to change my upload schedules, thank you for always commenting such lovely things for me to read, thank you for being there for me. Thank you for motivating me to continue doing something I love to do! I don't want to bore y'all with a load of soppy talk, so I'll end my speech here, but there is more information to come, so please keep reading!

 

If any of you wish to contact me and maybe start talking, I can be reached on Twitter (@alpakotori) or on my Instagram (@ganbanooby), which I'm actually really active on. You can find me there if you want to talk, or ask any questions, or just find out about updates.

 

ANYWAY, the main reason I'm writing this chapter is to gather some insight as to what you guys would like to read next! I have a few options, which will be presented to you with a little bit of information regarding each story, and I'd really appreciate it if you guys could comment which one/s you would like to see. Or you can contact me elsewhere regarding your answer! Okay, here they are, then:

 

**Option One:**

Name: Vanilla

I'm not too sure what ship I'd like to write this about. I've considered both NicoMaki and YohaRiko, but I'm not entirely sure yet. The premise for the story is as follows: "where a girl who doesn't talk much meets a girl who does". It's super basic, but I did have a lot of ideas for it, so I'd work on it if you guys wanted this. As for how much I'd like to write it (because people have told me that's an important factor to consider), I'm not too sure. There are other options that I would prefer to write, as you'll find out, but I'd be completely willing to sort something out if this was what you wanted to read!

 

**Option Two:**

Name: Old Friends (?)

This is based on a one shot that I posted a while ago. It would be a Natsu Dragneel x OC fic because I absolutely love Natsu with every fibre of my being and I've always wanted to write something about him. Of course, it would be preferable for you to have seen Fairy Tail beforehand, but it won't be at all necessary! The characters would be explained and the plot will be entirely my own, so I won't be spoiling anything or relying on you to have seen a certain arc in order to know what is going on. As you can gather from the title, it'll be about the OC and Natsu being old friends, but they were separated and, well, without spoiling too much, things would be happening! If you need a taster as to what the fic would be like, you can always go and read the one shot (it can be found on my profile) and get a feel for it! You can probably already tell how much I'd like to write this fic because I do love Natsu. A lot. But, if this isn't something you would like to read, then I would be perfectly happy to write something else for you!

 

**Option Three:**

Name: Outlaw

This is something I started quite a long time ago. It would be a Levi Ackerman x OC, but it's an AU so it won't spoil anything from the series and won't require any knowledge from the show. As you might be able to tell from the title, it's set in an AU where Levi is a criminal and the OC gets involved in some of his trouble. I actually started writing it a long time ago and could never quite get past a certain point, but that was because I didn't really go ahead with planning the fic and putting loads of effort into it because it was just something I was doing for fun. If it was something that you guys wanted to read, then I would put a lot more time and effort into writing beyond that point and finishing the fic! Regarding how much I'd want to write this, I would say it's something I would prefer to write, but it's not something I'm entirely engrossed with. At the end of the day, it's still entirely up to you guys!

 

**Option Four:**

This option isn't actually a fan fiction, but an original story that I've been working on in my own time for over a year now. It's called "Return to Angel Haven" and focuses on an angel that is sent back down to Earth in order to guide a troubled boy. I won't say any more than that because I could rant for ages about what happens, but I don't want to spoil anything. It's something that I'm actually pretty attached to, considering how long I've been working on it, and it's something I've been wanting to get feedback on for ages. I've tried posting it on other sites but, as I said before, I never really got any recognition or feedback regarding my work, so it was a little depressing. But if it's something that you guys would be interested in reading, then I would be really excited to share something so dear to me with you all!

 

Please let me know either in the comments or through one of my social medias your thoughts and opinions about the options provided. I don't want you to think that you have to pick a certain option just because I said I'd prefer to write it, as I honestly don't mind what I write as long as it is something that someone can enjoy! If I can make any of you happy in any way, then I'd gladly do it!

 

Once again, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy whatever I end up writing next!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> side note: i love you all so much for sticking through this fic with me <3


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